His Butler, Captured
by Your Guardian Demon
Summary: When a mysterious group of inhuman beings invade the manor, Sebastian is bound, kidnapped and tortured. Ciel is forced to flee, and he meets Loss, a strange woman who helps the earl find his butler. Ciel is curious about the strange darkness that surrounds her, and the closer they get to finding Sebastian, the more he is willing to find them out at all costs.
1. His Butler, Captured

Gunshots rang through the cool night air. Bodies littered the ground, easily visible in the full moon's light.

"Mey-Rin!" Sebastian called as another gunshot sounded. The maid looked down at him from the top of the roof where she was firing.

"Get to the southern entrance of the manor," he ordered. "There are more intruders trying to force their way in." Sebastian saw her nod before she turned around and disappeared. A minute later, he heard more gunshots and screams of pain. Sebastian slit the throat another intruder when the scream of a young man tore through the air. The voice had belonged to Finnian.

"Sebastian!" The butler heard Bardroy yelling for him. "We need your help! Finny's been-" The cook never finished his sentence, because he had started screaming in pain too, only to become silent moments later.

_Bardroy,_ Sebastian thought._ Taken by surprise?_ The butler was mildly concerned now. The cook, though he acted to the contrary sometimes, was no fool. It was very hard to sneak up on him an attack him. He seemed to have a sixth sense about traps. Sebastian didn't have time to brood over the matter, for he suddenly became aware of a new group of intruders. He tensed. He could tell these intruders weren't human. He didn't know what they were, and that scared him. However, he still had to protect his young master, and that meant he had to face these things.

Suddenly, he heard Mey-rin scream. "SEBASTIAN!"

The scent of her blood tainted the air. Three of the servants were down. Sebastian was left to face these unknown beings alone. He felt an impulse to run, but he stopped himself before he could do so. The fact that these things almost had him running made him angry. Whatever these things were, they were going to pay for disturbing the manor and possibly killing the servants. Before he could do anything however he was surrounded by them.

Sebastian was shocked to see that by all appearances, these things were human. There was something disturbing about them though. Their faces were blank and expressionless, their eyes dull eyes unfocused and glazed over. Their movements were perfectly in sync, as though they shared a hive mind. In each of their hands they wielded either a small death scythe, an angel dagger, or a demon knife, all of which were capable of inflicting serious, if not fatal wounds upon a demon.

For the first time, Sebastian felt what it was like to be cornered. It was a terrifying feeling that enraged him. He bellowed his rage, his demonic nature beginning to show itself. The green aura of demons enveloped him, and black feathers began to fall from his form. He lashed out, instantly killing one of the inhumans. He never stood a chance though, because they moved in for the attack.

* * *

Ciel Phantomhive's sleep was restless. He tossed and turned, trying desperately to escape the nightmare. He let out a quite sob and whimpered something unintelligible. Suddenly there was screaming, and it served to bring him back to reality. He woke with a jolt, sweating and trembling. His eyes were scanning the room when he heard Mey-Rin scream.

"Mey-rin?" He whispered. "What's going on here?" He spoke louder that time.

"Sebastian," he called. "Where are you?" In response, he got an enraged scream from his butler.

"SEBASTIAN!" Ciel called. He jumped out of bed, scared and looking for the shout's owner. Sebastian screamed again, this time the voice was filled with pain and fear.

"SEBASTIAN!?" Ceil was now terrified. What could make a demon sound like that? He rushed to the window and looked outside. Bathed in the full light of the moon was Sebastian. He was on his knees, sturggling wildly as he was chained by the people surrounding him. The demon cried out again as he was stabbed by the inhumans.

Ciel didn't know what to do, all he knew was that he somehow had to help his butler. He opened the window and jumped out, falling two stories onto a white rose bush. While the bush helped to break his fall, he still landed rather hard, and he hurt his ankle. The rose thorns scratched his arms and legs. As fast as his injured leg could go, Ciel ran towards his butler, screaming his name for all he was worth.

"SEBASTIAN! SEBASTIAN, SEBASTIAN!" The demon looked up. Black blood that had poured from his wounds pooled around him. He wore a tortured expression, bloody tears of pain smeared across his face. At the sight of his master, Sebastian's expression turned into one of terrified urgency.

"What are you doing here!?" He hissed. The inhumans suddenly became aware of Ciel's presence, and a group of them moved towards Ciel.

"No!" Sebastian screamed. "Ciel, get out of here! Right now! GO!" Ciel was shocked. Never, ever had Sebastian called him by name. Sebastian was writhing on the ground, struggling uselessly against the chains that bound him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?" He screamed. "GET AWAY FROM HERE!"

Ciel didn't know what to do. He was surrounded by the inhumans, but they weren't doing anything.

"What is going to happen to you?" Ciel asked. "What if I never see you again?"

"Don't worry about me, Ciel," The demon said in a sad voice." I'll come back for you... I promise"

Ciel could tell by Sebastian's voice that the demon knew he wasn't coming back, but the earl didn't really have much of a choice, because one of the inhumans swung its blade at him. He turned tail and ran.

* * *

_**This is just a really random idea that came into my head. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with it. So if you post your ideas in the reviews i would love it. For those of you following my other story, Possession, don't worry, I didn't abandon it. I'm just trying to figure out how I should end it. Thanks for reading!**_


	2. His Master, Fleeing

Ciel ran. He ran, and ran, ran. Every movement was torture. Every icy breath of air he took tore his throat, but he kept running. Why? Because he didn't have a choice. Those things that had kidnapped Sebastian were after him now, and it's a miracle they didn't catch him yet. _Sebastian_. What was happening to him? Did he manage to somehow get away? Was he fighting, or begging for mercy? Was he even still alive? _Stop it, _Ciel told himself. _Don't even think that. He said he'd come back..._ Ciel knew he was lying to himself. He saw the look in the demon's eyes before he ran away. They both knew that Sebastian wouldn't be coming back for anybody.

Ciel had begun to cough violently. He had been running too hard for too long, and triggered an asthma attack. He slipped into an alleyway and slumped against the wall, struggling to control his breathing. He pressed a hand against his chest to try to alleviate some of the pressure, to no avail. He saw a shadow move out of the corner of his eyes, but when he turned he saw nothing. That's when he felt the hand on his neck. The inhumans had caught up to him. He whirled around and backed away, only to run into another. He was surrounded. His breathing hitched even further, he was choking and gasping for breath, but he managed to shout his butler's name.

"SEBASTIAN!" Of course, no one answered. Sebastian was missing in action. Most likely the demon was being bound someplace miles away, powerless to do a thing as his master was killed. Ciel tried to shriek again, but found himself with so little air that he was struggling just to stay conscious. _I guess he really is gone,_ he thought. _I'm on my own, I guess._ Suddenly, there was a flash of silver and a _whizzing_ sound as a knife flew by his head. He heard the crack of a skull as the knife found its mark. He was amazed. Had Sebastian really manage to somehow get away? He looked up to see who threw the knife. A raven-haired, pale-skinned woman who appeared to be in her early twenties if not late teens stood on the roof of a building. She threw another knife before leaping down and drawing a deadly looking sword. She pulled her knife out of the inhuman's head, only to launch it into another. She quickly ran her sword through several others before grabbing her knives, flinging Ciel over her back, and running away. Somehow, they ended up on top of a four-story building. The woman carefully put Ciel on the ground. He was coughing worse than ever and barely conscious.

"Don't worry, Ciel," she said. "You're safe for now."

"W-wh- who..." Ciel could barely talk.

"Shh," the woman said. "You shouldn't speak, it wouldn't help. Forgive me for forgetting to introduce myself. My name is Loss." She informed. She couldn't really say anymore, because as soon as she had finished that sentence, Ciel blacked out.

* * *

The demon slowly drifted back towards consciousness, pain and confusion being his guide. Even when he managed to open his eyes, all he could see was nothing. He tried to move, only to realize he was being restrained by something. Chains? He couldn't tell. He _could_ tell that he had been in some sort of unconscious state, and that worried him deeply. Demons only went unconscious when they had been either severely wounded or were attempting to heal themselves.

He felt a tinge of fear, which enraged him to no end.. What was going on? Where was his master? He needed to find to out now. He wanted to make sure that the thing who did this to him would pay. He wanted to taste blood, to feel flesh ripping beneath his hands, and he wanted to hear those things scream. He began to struggle violently, roaring like the beast he was. He attempted to morph into his true form, but to no avail.

He cringed when another fresh wave of pain wracked his body. This wasn't at all the usual pain he felt when he was shot or stabbed, that was merely a discomfort. This pain was ruthless, savaging, and all consuming. There was nothing else but that burning pain. He didn't think or know anything. His only thoughts were pain. All he knew was pain. He cried out, blood red tears spilling over his eyes as he fell to his knees, leaving only the chains around his wrists to support him.

Something was pulled away from his face, and he was finally able to see. He looked up to see a woman with dark brown hair and strange green eyes holding a sword and a blindfold.

"Well would you look at that," she murmured. "The great Sebastian Michaelis, showing weakness? How absurd." She cast the blindfold aside, laughing slightly. Sebastian still couldn't think clearly, but he felt his left hand burn. He was overcome with anger. Enough anger to temporarily deaden the pain. His young master was in trouble! His young master could be dying, and there he was powerless to do anything! He began thrashing against the chains again, even though he knew it wouldn't do any good.

The demon suddenly found himself screaming in pain. His captor has just plunged her sword into his shoulder, and black blood rushed out to join the pool that had already gathered at his feet. He looked up and saw that the sword was angelic. He was dealing with an archangel, an incredibly rare being many times stronger than a demon.

"S-stop," he whispered. "Please..." He was revolted by his own weakness. The angel's eyes bore into his own.

"I don't think so," she said stoically. "You need to pay for your sins."

* * *

**_Guess who FINALLY decided to update? Yeah... sorry it took so long. Major writer's block is my only excuse xD. Oh, and don't expect any updates from me at all for a while. Midterms are a bitch... :3_**


	3. His Butler, Tortured

"What do you mean, 'it's probably to late?'" Ciel demanded.

Loss shook her head sadly, her blue-gray eyes were slightly wet.

"Ciel," she said. "You shouldn't talk. Wait for the fever to go down, at least."

They boy was still recovering from the asthma attack he suffered the previous night, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from findng out his butler's fate.

"Loss," he whispered. "Tell me what you think will happen to Sebastian...?"

Loss sighed, but cleared her throat and spoke in a tight voice.

"I don't know much," she started. "But I know for a fact that you and the demon were attacked by pure souls." She paused at the look of confusion on Ciel's face.

"Pure souls are beings who exist solely to serve angels," she explained. "Like minions of a sort. They don't have a mind of their own, all they can do is obey the orders of their master..."

Ciel's eyes widened slightly, but he didn't say anything.

"This leads me to believe that Sebastian was taken by an archangel, a member of the heavenly army. Their main duty is to find and kill demons," She murmured.

Ciel had so many questions flying around in his head. Who (or what) was this woman? How did she know who Sebastian was, and why was she about to cry just by speaking about him? How did she know all these things about angels and demons? Loss seemed to sense all the burning questions in the boy's head. She reached out and brushed the hair out of his face, trying to lull him to sleep.

"Shh," she whsipered. "I'll tell you everything you need to know later."

* * *

_A swing, a thud. His demonic scream, a wave of blood._

Sebastian was losing it. He tried to stay strong, but he couldn't take much more. Tortured sounds of pain escaped him whenever the angel struck him, not mattered how hard he tried to hold them in. He never spoke though. He never pleaded. His pained expression gave him away though. Clear in the demon's eyes was agonizing pain. It was obvious he was begging for an end.

What he couldn't understand was _why._ Why was he being subjected to this torture? The job of an archangel was to silently destroy demonic beings, not to torture them to the brink of insanity. Had he been able to think logically, he would have noticed that his captor's wings were made of soft, white downy feathers, not the silver, deadly-looking blades of a true archangel. Yet his angel wielded that holy blade. It was a crime that could get her cast down. The laws that governed angelic beings were very strict. Only archangels could wield weapons of such power. Sebastian's captor was not an archangel, so why in the name of hell was she doing this to him?

_Another blow, another inhuman scream, and another wave of black blood._

Sebastian suddenly retched, his blood spewing from his mouth. His eyes fell to the grisly slash the angel left in his stomach. He tried to control his shuddering breaths while his body was seized by tremors. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the next blow. It never came. He heard a clatter as the angel threw her stolen sword on the ground. She took his face in her hands, forcing his eyes to meet hers. She laughed at the pitiful sight she created, her green eyes glinted with malice.

* * *

Ciel shook his head, refusing to believe what Loss was telling him. In a few short hours, his lungs and throat had cleared, his fever had dropped almost back to normal, and his coughing had quieted considerably.

"No," he repeated. "You're lying..." They boy sounded unsure though.

Loss shook her head, struggling to control the sobs that threatened to escape her.

"I'm so sorry, I should have tried to help," she wailed. "There were so many things I could have done, yet I didn't even try!"

Ciel stared at the woman in cold fury. "So, you mean to tell me that you were at the manor the night that Sebastian was taken, you were there the _entire_ time, but you didn't do anything!?" His voice grew louder with each word. "And that trying to find Sebastian would be 'of no use to him or anyone else, because he'll be dead by the time we get to him'?!" The earl raged.

Loss nodded.

"Then why," Ciel said, "Did you bother saving me?"

"You have to understand, Ciel," Loss said. "Had I done anything at the manor, Sebastian would have seen me-" Ciel cut her off.

"WHY DO YOU HAVE SUCH A PROBLEM WITH A DEMON SEEING YOU!?" he raged. "You and I are the only ones that can save him, Loss! Please!"

"You would never understand," she murmured. "I- I... Me... and him..." She trailed off.

"I don't care about that," Ciel pleaded. "Just help me save him."

Loss sighed and hung her head. "Fine," she spat. "Give me until tomorrow night to get ready, and you need some sleep!"

* * *

"Tell me, demon," the angel teased. "Do you know why you are here?"

Sebastian let out a weak hiss in response.

"Now, now," She said threateningly. "I won't have any of that." She reached out and took her blade again.

"I'll try again," She said. "Do you know why you are here?" she teasingly cut his skin, and laughed when he flinched.

Sebastian shook his head, lacking the strength to speak. He looked at the angel with glassy eyes pleading silently for mercy.

"You truly are a vile creature," The angel said. "You and your entire race. So filthy and sinfully inpure."

Sebastian didn't react.

"You destroy what little good is in this world. You feed off the weak, pretending to care for them when you only wish to fuel your own selfish desires!" the angel's voice cracked with emotion.

"You remorseless monsters destroyed everything I held dear!" She screamed. She took a moment to calm down, then continued in a chilling voice "So now... I will do the same to you."

_Angelic tears fell to mix with the demonic blood. The sword was raised for a death blow._

* * *

_**xD update! WOOO! Notice how in almost all my stories, Sebby is constantly on the verge dying? -shameless advertising- I hope you enjoyed the SebbyxLoss hints and the cliffie lol. I'm thinking about discontinuing this story, because I think this chapter is the worst I have ever written, and because I'm not getting reviews, which translates into lack of interest. This chappie is probably gonna get revised soon.**_

**_So um, yeah. xD That's about if for now. My fans should know that I love each and every one of your sexy faces, even though I have never seen them, and that you're the best for sticking with me despite my random and crappy imagination._**

**_BAI! :D_**


	4. His Master, Struggling

He was alone. He was scared. He didn't know why. Ciel Phantomhive ran through pitch blackness, over a floor so cold it burned. It was like charging through and endless tunnel. He didn't know what was up or down, right or left. Nothing but empty space.

Over the sound of his labored breathing, he suddenly heard screams. He ran faster, and suddenly his pitch black surroundings were changed into that of a burning mansion. He burst into a room, and saw his parents slowly being eaten by flames. His mother had long since stopped moving, but his father was still writhing and screaming. His eyes met his son's, and suddenly he was screaming louder than ever before.

"Ciel!? Ciel, you must get out of here! You need to run. Run as far away as possible. Run!"

the scene around him suddenly changed. The flames started to melt Vincent's body. It morphed and distorted, and then suddenly reshaped itself into the form of Sebastian. The flames vanished, as did the burning building. Ciel was now standing on cold, wet grass and watching helplessly as his butler was attacked. Sebastian looked up and the moonlight reflected the pain in his eyes as he saw his master.

"Ciel, get out of here! Right now! GO!"

The boy turned and ran, but as he did so, his surroundings changed again. Iron bars suddenly formed around him, and he was forced to stoop over as a cage imprisoned him. He looked around as panic set in. He was back in the occult. Trapped. Helpless. Faithless.

He was set on an altar. His aunt, Madame Red, stood over him holding a blade, ready to plunge it down into his heart.

"YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BORN IN THE FIRST PLACE!" She shrieked.

The knife flew downwards. He closed his eyes, but no pain came. Instead, he heard the whir of a chainsaw, and opened his eyes to see Loss driving the scythe through the red lady's chest. She turned to the boy, scooped him up in her arms the way Sebastian would, and began to run away. The surroundings slowly began to fade away, back into the original pitch blackness.

"Ciel," she whispered, "wake up." She gently shook his shoulders. "You need to wake up, Ciel."

* * *

The boy suddenly bolted upright, panting and trembling. He was covered in a sheen of cold sweat. He wildly looked around, trying to identify where he was. He was in a completely unfamiliar place, a cave of some sorts. There was a fire crackling in the center of the cave, warming the entire area. The boy looked down and realized that he had been sleeping on a makeshift bed made of a thin pile of blankets. He looked outside, and calculated that It was around early evening. His eyes suddenly found Loss, who was kneeling over him with concerned look on his face.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Ciel hesitated. "What happened?"

Loss stared into his eyes for a moment. Hers were a strange blue-violet color, with a ring of blue-black surrounding the iris.

"You were sleeping and you started tossing and moaning and crying. It worried me, so I woke you up."

Ciel blushed slightly in humiliation. "Don't worry yourself, it was just a bad dream." he nearly snapped. "Where are we anyways?"

"We can't return to the manor," Loss said. "It's been overrun by pure souls. Whoever is controlling them really wants you and Sebastian."

The name _Sebastian_ triggered something in his mind.

"How do you know Sebastian. Or me, for that matter?"

Loss's eyes met the ground. "I met him a long time ago. I doubt he remembers me..."

"How long ago?" Ciel asked.

"A few years." she replied shortly.

Ciel paused, looking for another question to further his interrogation.

"How old are you, then?"

"Twenty" she said a little too quickly.

"You know what, Loss?" Ciel said in an irritated tone. "I think you're lying to me. And I hate liars."

"It doesn't matter what you think," she said tartly, "I don't even have to answer your questions. Now do you want me to help you find your butler or what?"

Ciel snorted. "Fine. How are we gonna find him?"

Loss smirked slightly and pointed to Ciel's marked eye. "With this."

Ciel looked confused. "How?"

Loss rolled her eyes. "You do know why you have that, don't you?"

"Of course," Ciel said, "It lets Sebastian know where I am, and it gives me power over him."

"That's not all," she said. "That seal is his little window into your mind. When you give him a direct order, the mark on his own hand burn slightly. When you are in any physical pain or in danger of death, his seal will feel the exact same pain you are currently feeling. When the contract is completed, the seal will cause him to go nearly insane with hunger. If you die or the contract is otherwise terminated before completion, his seal will bleed and he will feel the most torturous pain imaginable. You don't understand how much power you have over him." She explained.

Ciel stared. "How come he never told me any of this?"

"He's a demon" she replied, "He's manipulative and deceitful. Of course he would never want you to know this. That seal is your protection from other demons. Your soul already belonged to him from the very second you entered into the contract. No other demon can touch your soul as long as you both bear that mark."

Ciel nodded vaguely, waiting for her to continue.

Loss went on, "That seal is a telepathic connection between the two of you. Just like he can find you, you can find him. You can use it to communicate with each other over long distances. Learn how to use the contract, Ciel. Right now it's your most valuable asset."

The boy breathed a long sigh. "Alright, I get the point. Just tell me what to do. How do you know about all this stuff anyways? Are you a demon?"

Loss bit her lip. "Not exactly... but that's not the point here!"

Ciel jumped at the harshness of her reply. "Alright, alright!"

Loss breathed out. "I assume this is the first time you've ever used your mark in such a way. It can be difficult. Humans are not supposed to use their seals in such a way. You'll drain your energy if your not careful."

Ciel let out an irritated _tch_

"Completely clear your mind. Think only of Sebastian. Concentrate."

Ciel closed his eyes and did as he was told. A hazy image floated into his mind. A dark room lit only with torches. There was a man chained to one of the far walls, writhing and letting out agonized sounds. His upper body was bare and covered with ugly wounds. His ragged black locks hung loose and covered his red eyes. There was a woman in the picture too. She had brown hair and green eyes. She had some sort of sword in one hand, which she would occasionally use to hurt the man. She had a sadistic, pleasured expression on her face.

Ciel clenched his eyes tighter to keep the image intact. His seal had begun to glow with an intense light that could be seen even through his eyelids.

_S-Sebastian!?_

The demon stopped struggling for a moment. He hung his head, staring at the floor with unfocused eyes.

_...Master?_

And then suddenly Ciel's whole being was lit with a fiery torture. His concentration broke, and the image distorted and dissolved back into the cave with Loss. He collapsed, twitching, writhing, screaming and lost in pain.

"_Ciel!? Ciel! Snap out of it!"_

Faintly, he heard Loss screaming at him, desperately trying to calm him. She struck his face multiple times. Slowly, the pain began to fade away, leaving him feeling drained and numb.

"W-what happened!?" Loss yelled.

"I don't know," Ciel murmured. "I saw him. He was in this dark room. Someone was hurting him. He was screaming. I called his name... in my mind, I guess. I think he heard me. He called me, too..." He trailed off.

"Then what?" Loss pressed.

"Then everything started hurting. What does that mean?"

"I told you. The seal allows him to feel any pain you feel. You opened the connection to far, so you felt the pain he was feeling."

Ciel gulped and went pale. Sebastian was in that much trouble!?

"I know where he is. Exactly where he is."

"That's good," Loss said, "Now lead the way."

Ciel stood unsteadily.

"I swear," Ciel started, "That when we find the bastard who did this, I will make them feel that pain. Ten times over that pain. I'll leave them begging for death!"

* * *

_**OMG UPLOAD! Haha, that's right! UPDATE, BITCHEZ! I finally got off my lazy ass and decided to continue this story. I wrote this 1500+ words chapter in a few hours. I know that's not a lot compared to some, but hell, I'm actually somewhat happy with this chapter. WOOT!**_

_**Grell:*legasp* LOSS IS A MARY-SUE!  
Me: NO SHE'S NOT! YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT HER! SHUT THE HELL UP, GRELL! YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS THAT SHE'S SEEN SEBBY'S D*CK BEFORE! Wait, what?**_

_**That was a very subtle spoiler. Make of that what you will.**_

_**Oh guys, guess what!? I DREW A PICTURE OF LOSS! lol not that impressive. If you want to see it, go check my deviatart page. The link is my profile ^_^**_

_**Alright. I'm going to shamelessly ask you all to read and review my other stories, and to leave your reviews on this story. Hell, leave tons of reviews on this story. I'M A REVIEW WHORE. I NEED REVIEWS TO FUEL MY MESSED UP MIND. This chapter wouldn't have even been written if it wasn't for LovleyLady and Kurai Amechan begging me to continue. Actually, I think they are the same person, BUT WHO CARES!?**_

_**Here's another request for you guys: Go to my profile and vote in the poll. PLEASE! IT'S SUPERRR IMPORTANT!**_

_**I don't know when this is gonna get updated again, but I'll try to keep it reasonable. Thanks for reading!**_

_**BYYYEE! ^_^**_


	5. His Butler, Broken

"There is a large stone sentry tower a few kilometers away from the Tower of London." Ciel said, "It was condemned some years ago when it started crumbling. There is no longer a use for it, so it was evacuated and left for dead. That's where Sebastian is."

Loss nodded. "When do you want to leave?"

"As soon as you're ready." He replied without hesitation.

She stood and went to a pile of knives she left on the floor of the cave. She quickly began to stuff them into the ragged black dress she was wearing. It was torn in many places, and the skirt had been ripped off a little bit above her knees. The sleeves were long and there was a hole at the end of each for her thumbs to fit through. It was a dress for speed and fighting, not beauty and parties. She quickly tucked a of dagger into each sleeve, before she stood and moved her limbs a bit to make sure the weapons were concealed in the proper places.

She saw Ciel staring at her.

"Demon blades," she answered his unasked question, "This type of demon blade isn't powerful enough to kill a demon, but they sure do pack a punch."

She picked up a pair of sheathed blades and handed them to the boy. "These aren't as rare as true demon swords, but they're still damn hard to find. Be careful with them!"

Ciel nodded and carefully attacked the daggers to his belt loop. He looked back up at Loss.

"So, where exactly are we?"

"In a forest a little was from London. If we make it back to the city by daybreak and steal a horse or two,we should make it to the tower by this time tomorrow."

Ciel looked back out at the sky. It had darkened considerably.

"What time is it?"

"My best guess would be around midnight."

"Then we better get moving."

* * *

"Demon," the angel suddenly said.

Sebastian looked up, his eyes hazy and lidded.

"Stand up." the angel commanded.

Sebastian hung his head in exhaustion, and gave it a slight shake.

"Why you disgusting beast!" She lased out with the blade, striking him squarely in the chest.

A huge gash opened up and blood quickly pooled out. He let out a hoarse yell. She struck out again and again, drawing agonized sounds from him with each attack.

"You will do what I tell you too, demon!" She punctuated each word with another blow. "I will not tolerate your disobedience! now STAND UP!"

Sebastian raised his head to stare at her. Though he was weak and in agony, the heated glare he gave her was more than enough to stop a bull in it's tracks. His eyes seethed with hatred, but he began to struggle to stand up. His feet slipped in puddles of his own blood. Even when he was almost managed to stand upright, his knees would give out and he would be forced to start over. Every so often, he would yell as the angel beat him with the sword.

Suddenly, the demon stopped struggling. He stopped screaming. He stopped everything, and hung his head. His glazed eyes stared unfocused on the floor. This surprised the angel to the point where she paused her brutal treatment. She watched as the pentacle on his hand began to glow faintly.

"_...Master?_" he whispered.

The angel's eyes widened at this one word, and then she was on him again. She punched and kicked him, leaving deep bruises and earning the occasional shattering of bones. She suddenly remembered her sword, and stopped. She picked it up and swung. There was the sound of metal on metal, and then Sebastian collapsed completely, finally free of the chains. She landed a heavy kick to his side, which sent him flying against the other wall. There was a loud, sickening crack that harmonized with his tortured scream. He curled into a loose ball on the floor, whimpering softly as tears spilled over his eyes.

"WHAT IS THIS!?" she bellowed, "WHAT DOES THIS MEAN!?" she stomped on his marked hand.

No reply.

"TELL ME!" she plunged her blade into his shoulder.

Sebastian writhed slightly. "I-I don't know..." he rasped weakly.

"_LIAR!"_ She shrieked.

She stepped on his left arm, pinning it to the floor. She raised the blade once more, and Sebastian's eyes widened in realization. He squirmed helplessly. The sword flew down, directly onto his wrist, severing the hand and contract mark with it.

He screamed louder than humanly possible. His eyes dilated and in that moment, he broke. He stopped fighting. He gave up.

* * *

"Loss, stop." Ciel said suddenly.

She stopped and turned around. Ciel was leaning against a tree with his eyes clenched shut.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know. I'm dizzy. My head hurts." he mumbled.

She kneeled in front of him and felt his forehead. He felt perfectly normal.

"Can you keep going a little further? I mean, London is literally ten metres away."

Ciel suddenly tensed, but said nothing.

"Ciel?" Loss asked.

The boy suddenly opened his eyes wide, and collapsed. He was screaming, writhing, and clutching at his right eye which suddenly had blood running all over it.

"Ciel! Stop it!"

She covered his mouth with her hand to silence his screams. He was oblivious to her efforts, and continued screaming into her hand. He stared blankly ahead of him with eyes that swam in agony. She ripped the hand away from his eye.

_"N_o..." She breathed.

The seal was gone, and a steady stream of reddish-black blood ran down his face.

* * *

_**Rushed chapter is rushed. I mean seriously, this is the shortest chapter I've ever written. only around 900 words. Meh, who cares. I didn't do a grammar run through this, so please excuse any mistakes. The poll on my profile is open, and I will close it after I get 15+ unique voters.**_

_**The Raven and the wolf & Possesion will both be updated soon. make sure you watch out for that!**_

_**I also plan posting a bunch of one-shots soon. and I also plan on starting to write stories for other fandoms. Something else to watch out for.**_

_**Well, I'm really tired. Make sure you Review, or this story won't be continued. I love all the positive feedback i'm getting. It really motivates me to keep writing. Thanks for all your support.**_

_**BYYEE! ^_^**_


	6. His Master, Memory

Loss pulled the broken child into her arms as he released a pained sob.

_He's dead..._ Ciel thought.

She pulled Ciel away slightly so she could look at his face. She nearly sighed in relief. The mark was faded, but it was _still there_. Under blood and tears and pain, a testimony to Sebastian's continued existence. It could no longer glow. It couldn't hold demon and human together anymore.

Loss shushed Ciel and wiped his eye gently with her thumb. She quickly ripped a large bit of the sleeve off of the boy's coat, and tied it around his face as a make-shift eye patch.

"You're okay." she cooed. She couldn't even begin to imagine both the physical and mental pain Ciel was suffering right now.

"You're okay," she repeated softly. "Sebastian's okay."

Did she know that for certain? Not at all, but she knew for a fact that Sebastian was still alive. The mark hadn't faded completely, as it would have if Sebastian had died.

Ciel stiffened and tried to push Loss away. "I'm fine." he murmured.

They stared at each other for a moment. Loss took in the boy's disheveled appearance. The dirty clothes, the messy hair, the dark bags under his eyes. They boy had refused to eat anything since Loss found him, which was about two days ago, and he was already beginning to lose weight.

Ciel was far from fine, and they both knew it. But the boy was far too proud to admit that he was anything other than 'fine'. He didn't need or want the concern of any other living thing. The cage had made him so. No one cared for him when he was trapped in that damned occult, so why should they now?

Ciel gazed into Loss's eyes. They seemed to have changed color since when he last saw them. They were a strange blue and purple pattern last time. Now they were simply a spiral of blue and gray. Beautiful. Mesmerizing somehow. Nostalgic.

_"Hey," a small voice said, "Hey, you!"_

_A small, emaciated child turned to the source of the sound. Hunched over in the cage next to his was a little girl, about the same age as him. She had long black hair and gray-blue eyes. She was thin, but not starved. But that wasn't what drew his attention to her. It was her smile, the way she radiated life. No one else smiled in this hell._

She's new._ Ciel thought absently. _She doesn't know. They never do until it's too late.

_The idea that this little light in his dark world would soon be crushed saddened him, but that's how life was here._

_"How long have you been here?" she asked quietly._

_Ciel simply shrugged. The girl sighed in annoyance._

_"Why doesn't anyone talk to me here!?"_

_What a bright little spark she was. It was such a shame she had to end up here. It would be hard to put her out, but they always did in the end._

_Ciel rolled his eyes and turned his back to her. She let out a gasp of surprise._

_"Oh, what's that on your back?" she asked innocently._

_Ciel was wearing nothing but a rag wrapped across his legs. The brand was easily visible. He turned his neck so that just the side of his face was visible._

_"Oh this?" he said bitterly, "Why this is just my 'seal of purity'. Don't worry, you'll get one soon, too."_

_The girl swallowed, and then looked down. The silence between them lengthened the sound of breaking bread made the boy turn to her with starving eyes._

_She was holding out half a loaf of bread._

_Ciel stared at it as if it was sacred. He hadn't even seen a scrap of food in a week! How on earth did she manage to acquire such a luxury?_

_"You look hungry." she said simply._

_Ciel stared at her with disbelief. Slowly, cautiously, like a dog fearing punishment for what he was about to do, he reached out and took the precious bread, then snatched his hand away as if he expected her to steal it away and laugh. She simply stared curiously at him, wondering why he was acting so strange over a bit of food._

_Their eyes met for a moment, and then he was suddenly devouring the bread like the starved animal he was. He suddenly looked up at the sound of laughter. The girl... she was laughing at him! Did she find the fact that she had food while everyone else starved funny!?_

_"Slow down!" She laughed innocently. "You'll choke. I'm sure they will bring more!"_

_He stared at her, amazed at her naivety. Did she really not know that she was in the closest thing to hell? The kinds of horrors she would soon know? Was she completely oblivious to the fact that she was in a_ cage?_ Did she know that she wouldn't be seeing anymore food for weeks? Obviously not, or she probably wouldn't have shared it. _

_She took a small bite of bread. "I'm Akuma. What's your name?"_

_He hesitated. "Ciel."_

_She reached through the bars of her cage to take his hand in hers in a warm gesture of friendship._

"Ciel?"

He shook his head to pull himself from the memories.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

"Me? Oh, um... yeah. I'm fine."

She raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"It's not like I'm dying or anything!" he snapped.

That statement was true, but he was still close. The pain in his head was maddening.

"Let's just go!"

Loss sighed, but picked herself up anyways.

"Come on," she said. "After we make it out of this forest, we will be in London."

He stared ahead, spotting a clearing in the trees some distance away where he assumed the forest ended. The two started walking.

* * *

_**HAPPY UPDATE, MY SEXY BITCHES!**_

_**legasp! New character! Fun fact about Akuma: her name means 'demon' in japanese.**_

_**No news with Sebastian this chapter, but let us all assume he is still getting his ass beat by that bitch angel, yes?**_

_**This is a first: I'm happy with this chapter. Not decently happy, but really friggn happy. I just had a lot of fun pounding away on my keyboard writing this while jamming out to Black Veil Brides. My insomnia is acting up, so I was able to stay up real late writing this shit for you. Be happy.**_

_**I feel so bad because I have completely abandoned my other stories in favor of writing this. I completely ditched my homework for this.**_

_**So, I'm starting this new thing where you guys can ask questions about the story in the reviews, and I will give you answers in the AN of the next chapter. No major spoilers though, sorry. So ask away**_

_**Minor spoilers below!**_

_**So, you all ask, What is the deal with Loss? Well, I'm sure this slow progression is killing you, but I will say that Loss has an... interesting past with Sebastian. Were they lovers? family? friends? enemies? Hah, like I'm gonna tell you now.**_

_**Now there is this new person we have to deal with, Akuma. She is going to be a pretty significant character, so you should watch out for her. She's only gonna appear in flashbacks for a while, but just wait till we see her in person!**_

_**Loss's real name shall soon be known! What, you thought Loss was her real name? LOL NOPE!**_

_**To answer a few questions.**_

_**No, I do not plan on killing Sebastian. I plan on torturing the shit out him, though. If you wanna see Sebby death, go read my story called Checkmate -shameless plug-**_

_**The contract is not truly broken. It's like at the end of the first season when Sebby lost his arm and Claude was able to invade the contract.**_

_**End Spoiler alert**_

_**Speaking of Claude, do you want him and all the other trancy losers to make an appearance in HBC? You do? Well so do I, but it's not gonna happen. I can't think of a way to put those guys in there without ruining the story I already have in mind. I do plan on putting the Trancy Losers in my other fic, ****The Raven and the Wolf.**** Whenever I get around to updating it.**_

_**The poll in my profile has been updated with a new option! If you've already voted in the poll, but want to vote for the new option, just pm me to let me know!**_

_**wow... that was a real long AN...**_

_**BYE! ^_^**_


	7. His Butler, Waiting

"Damnit!" Ciel hissed, spotting his picture for the fourth time in a row.

Loss and he had just retreated into an alley near the undertaker's parlor. She stood and walked to the wall where the picture hung, before quickly pulling it down.

"Earl Ciel Phantomhive, missing." She read aloud. "Last seen October 18th . £1,000 reward. If seen, contact Frances Midford."

She handed the paper to Ciel, who crumpled it up and tossed it away without a second glance.

"How the hell are we supposed to get through London without being seen!?" Ciel groaned. "Damn posters..."

Loss thought for a moment.

"I wasn't expecting this. I guess we'll have to keep moving and hope no one sees you..." She drifted off, her attention drawn to something else at the alley entrance.

"I've only been missing for three days! Leave it to Elizabeth to make a big deal over it." Ciel said to himself.

Loss wasn't listening to him, she was walking swiftly out of the alley.

"Hey!" Ciel almost yelled.

Loss, having reached the end of the alley, ignored him. She snatched another piece of paper off the wall, and returned to Ciel. She stared at the flyer for a moment, before silently handing it to him.

It was another missing alert, but instead of himself, it was Sebastian who stared up at him from the paper.

"Sebastian Michaelis," Ciel read the name he had given to the demon. "Butler to earl Ciel Phantomhive..." He was cut off when his stomach loudly growled.

Loss smirked. "When was the last time you've eaten?" she asked.

"I haven't eaten since that night at the manor." he replied, "I haven't had anything to drink either other than some dirty water from a puddle in those woods."

She bowed her head for a moment in thought.

"Stay here," she said suddenly, "I'll be right back."

"Wait, where are y-" Ciel didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. Loss quickly ducked out of the alley and was running off in some random direction.

Ciel sighed and retreated to one the darker corners and sat down. He wasn't really concerned for Loss, though he still wanted to know what she was doing. Loss would be fine. _She_ didn't have her face plastered all over the place.

The boy could feel exhaustion creeping up on him. He looked up at the slowly lightening sky. How long had he been running through that damned forest? He knew that falling asleep out in a public place where nearly everyone was probably looking for him was incredibly stupid, but fighting sleep was a losing battle for him, and his heavy eyes eventually dragged him down.

* * *

_"I hate it here," Akuma sniffed._

_"It's okay," Ciel said quietly._

_He had grown rather attached to the girl. He never really had anyone to talk to around here, and Akuma had proven to be a great friend._

_"I'm hungry," she whispered. "Why do they keep hurting us?"_

_"I wish I knew." Ciel said in a hushed voice._

_There was a long silence between the two in which the only sounds heard were that of the other children shuffling and crying in their cages._

_"Ciel?" Akuma suddenly asked._

_The boy looked up at his friend._

_"We're going to die here, aren't we?" she said._

_Ciel sighed. "Probably."_

_A tear slipped out of Akuma's eyes__._

_Ciel ached with sorrow for her. The way this place had robbed her of that childlike innocence. They had put out the little rebellious spark and distorted her view of life, just like they always did. All she saw was the bad, never the good. _

_His eyes swept the room, taking in each and every child. He watched some of the older kids. The broken ones. The ones who had given up all hope. These were the kids who were on their way out of life. Their every move scream hopelessness. The way they hung their heads. They never slept or ate. They didn't struggle anymore when they came and pulled them out of their cages for some sick ritual. They never screamed in pain when a burning blade was pressed to their skin. Their eyes were glazed over, completely devoid of light, staring into nothing. They were numb. Just shells of the smiling children they once were._

_Ciel was brought out of his reverie by a pale young man with shoulder-length red hair and gray eyes. The man kneeled in front of his cage and looked at him._

_"Hello," he started quietly._

_Ciel glared at the man with distrust and said nothing._

_"I'm really sorry this happened to you all. I wish I could do something."_

_The man watched to see if Ciel would do anything. When the boy said nothing, the man just continued._

_"I want to leave this place. I hate everything about it. The only reason I joined this stupid cult was because I was homeless and had nowhere else to go. I'd rather be back on the street begging than staying here. I'm not allowed to leave, though. They'll kill me if I try."_

_"Wouldn't they kill you for talking to us?" Ciel asked in a cruel voice. "Aren't we supposed to be 'tainted' and 'impure'?"_

_"I don't believe any of that," the man said. "I want to help end this thing." He glanced at Akuma, who was listening intently. he spotted the newly burned brand on her back._

_"They hurt us, too." he said as he pulled up his sleeve to reveal the cult symbol which was carved into his arm._

_"What's your name?" Akuma suddenly said._

_"Michaelis." came the reply. "At least, that's what everyone around here calls me. When we first join, we are given new names."_

_Ciel scoffed._

_"Here," Michaelis said while holding out a bit of cheese. "I don't have a lot, but I hope it helps." he handed a slice of bread to Akuma. "Don't tell, I'll get into serious trouble."_

_He stood and walked away, leaving Ciel and Akuma staring._

* * *

Ciel jolted awake when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. His eyes focused on Loss, who was standing over him with an impatient expression.

"Do you know how stupid it is to fall asleep out here!?" She yelled in a hushed voice. "Someone could have found you and you wouldn't have been able to get away!"

Ciel looked up and concluded that it was about midday. There was a delicious smell in the air, and he realized that it was coming from Loss. She had a large, cheap purse strung over her shoulder. She caught him staring at it and tossed the bag to him.

"These two Indians were on a street corner selling this stuff called 'curry bread'." she said, "I told them I was homeless and they gave me three for free."

Ciel ripped open the purse and stared hungrily at the buns inside. He ripped into it and started devouring the food.

"Slow down!" she snickered. "Last thing we need is for you to choke."

Ciel rolled his eyes but tried to slow down. He swallowed suddenly and started coughing when he heard a soft whinny coming from behind Loss.

"I told you!" she said. "Oh, and by the way, I think I just solved our transportation issue."

She stepped back and pointed to the end of the alley. There stood a saddled, gigantic black horse with a thin white diamond on its forehead. It bowed its head and softly tapped one of its hooves against the ground.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Loss asked. "I watched her owner tie her to a tree and just walk away. I think she called her Agro, but I'm not sure. Either way, this horse looks strong enough to carry the both of us. I rode her back here. She's decently fast, and she can run at her top speed for a long time."

Ciel swallowed, and stood. He looked down and saw that Sebastian's poster was still on the ground next to the now empty purse. He kicked both the paper and the bag away and began walking towards the horse. Loss hung back. She reached over and grabbed the flyer. She stared at Sebastian's face for a moment, before carefully tucking the paper into her dress.

Ciel who was about to get on the horse, looked back.

"Loss, you coming or what?"

She snapped her head up at the sound of his voice.

"Yes, of course." she said with a slight hint of sadness in her voice.

She got on in front of Ciel and gently kicked Agro's side. The horse threw her head up and reared before slamming her hooves back on the ground and charging out of the alley.

* * *

_**I HATE THIS CHAPTER SO FUCKING MUCH!**_

_**That is all I'm gonna say.**_

_**Got questions? post them in the reviews and they shall be answered next chapter!**_


	8. His Master, Lost

_"Look at the sinner who stands before you! This is the man who befriended the impure!" A wizened voice boomed._

_An ancient-looking shaman and a young priestess stood before an altar. Kneeling between them was a gagged Michaelis, who had his hands tied behind his back. The man's gray eyes were wide and frantic as he searched his audience. They found the back of the room, where Ciel, Akuma, and all the others were huddled in their cages._

_The shaman continued. "He tried to leave this holy temple! He wanted to return to the world outside, full of sin and hatred!" _

_The priestess looked down on Michaelis._

_"If he so wishes to be tainted and unholy, so be it, but we cannot allow such impurity to dwell under our roof!" She yelled._

_The crowd below was beginning to rally themselves. They jeered at Michaelis and shouted encouragement to the priestess, who was pulling a long silver sword from a sheath at her hip. The gleaming blade had peculiar runes and symbols etched into it._

_Michaelis, upon seeing the blade, began to struggle and writhe desperately against the ropes that tied his wrists to the floor. He yelled against his gag. Muffled pleas that fell deaf on unforgiving ears._

_"No!"_

_Akuma threw herself against the bars of her cage, reaching her arms through the gap in a useless attempt at reaching Michaelis._

_Only a few people in the back of room paid any attention to her. Most of them were calling for Michaelis' death as they watched the sword hover over his head. The preistess continued to speak, but neither of them were paying attention to what she was saying anymore._

_Both Ciel and Akuma screamed as the sword flew down and buried itself in the man's chest with a sick thud. His eyes rolled up into his head as he slumped over onto the Shaman's feet. The priestess pulled the sword out and returned it to its sheath. _

_"Never turn to sin," she said as blood pooled around her feet. "It will only drag you straight to hell."_

_She walked off the altar. The shaman stepped forward and swept the crowd with his eyes._

_"Disperse!" he yelled._

* * *

"Ciel!" Loss called, "You need to stop zoning out on me like that!"

The two were resting under a huge tree somewhere on the north bank of the River Thames, only a few miles from the old sentry tower Sebastian was being kept at. The black horse had run as fast as she could for hours on end, and she was truly exhausted. Now, she was stretched out over a sunny patch of grass, dozing peacefully and letting out an occasional snore.

"Sorry." Ciel mumbled while looking at the ground.

Loss stared at him with mild concern.

"What are you even thinking about anyways?"

Ciel didn't answer for a long time.

"Things..."

There was a long silence between the two of them.

"Is it Sebastian?" she suddenly asked in a hushed voice.

"No," he answered honestly.

He raised a hand to the cloth that covered the damaged seal.

"I don't want to think about that..." he murmured.

Loss sighed as she watched the river bubble along at a peaceful pace. Ciel's gaze was following a raven soaring through the air.

* * *

_A raven had dived in through an open window, and it carefully landed in the pool of blood left by Michaelis. It looked down into the crimson liquid, as if it was trying to see a reflection of sorts. It dipped its beak into the pool and scooped up a few drops. It dipped its head back and swallowed, then did the same thing again._

_Ciel watched with disgust. He yelled at the bird to fly away. The raven cocked its sleek black head in his direction, then spread its wings and flew straight into the boy's cage._

_Ciel yelled in surprise as the bird landed at his feet. It gazed up him with unnaturally intelligent eyes, and in that moment Ciel realized that this thing probably wasn't normal. The raven stared at him as if he were some sort of meal._

_"Hey!" a voice screamed. "Get away!"_

_Both the raven and Ciel turned to Akuma, who was the one that yelled. The bird swooped into her cage and gazed harshly at her. It opened its beak and let out a shrill call before turning and flying back out through the open window._

_Ciel sighed and leaned his back against the bars of his cage, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back in a seemingly relaxed gesture._

_"The gift of flight is granted to the most useless creatures." he said more to himself than anyone else._

_The sound of running brought both children to full attention. A group of about six people suddenly burst into the room, the shaman and the priestess were among them._

_"There they are!" one of them said, pointing at Ciel and Akuma._

_"You're sure?" the shaman asked._

_"Positive," he replied, "I saw Michaelis feeding them last week."_

_"Tch," the priestess said, "Those two always were a bit of trouble." she sneered, "Emon!" she yelled._

_"Yes, Lillium?" the shaman replied._

_"Get the boy and kill him." she said coldly, "Take two templars with you. I'll take the other two and handle the girl."_

_"_No..._" Akuma breathed._

_Emon approached Ciel. _

_"NO!" she screamed. "CIEL!" she slammed into the side of her cage. "GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU BASTARD!"_

_Ciel backed into the corner of the cage as the old man came closer. He couldn't say that he was surprised by this. He knew his death was looming over him since the day he was thrown into this hellhole, but he still couldn't help being gripped with terror as he finally stared death in the face. __Akuma was in hysterics, while Ciel was trapped in something of a silent panic._

_The cage door opened._

_"RUN!"_

_it only took one that one word from Akuma, and Ciel was suddenly acting like a rabid bull let out of its pen. Despite his pitiful condition, he was able to charge down the Shaman and make a beeline towards the door. For the briefest moment, he thought he had been able to cheat death._

_If only it were that easy._

_Two of the warriors suddenly broke away from the group and tackled the boy to the ground. He screamed and writhed and struggled uselessly. Emon was able to pick himself up, and harshly kicked Ciel in the face._

_"There will be hell to pay for that, boy." He snarled._

_Akuma had broken down into a screaming mess. Ciel met her eyes for the briefest moment. She was reaching one arm through the bars of her cage, her hand opened wide in a begging gesture. Her face had the saddest look Ciel had ever seen. _

_The contact broke and Ciel was dragged from the room. The last thing he saw was Lillium coldly smiling at him._

_ Time seemed to slow down as he was thrown onto a blood-stained altar._

_The air was suddenly torn in two by Akuma. She had let loose the most agonized, heart-breaking scream Ciel had ever heard. The scream was cut off by a sick ripping sound._

_Hatred._

_That's the only thing he knew. The only thing that kept him alive until this point, the thing that refused to let him die now._

_"GOD," he screamed, "WHAT A LIE! WHERE ARE YOU NOW!? MY PROTECTOR? YOU WERE NEVER THERE!"_

_The Shaman raised a sword._

_"SOMEONE HELP ME!" Ciel pleaded, "ANYONE!"_

_A raven's cry rang through the air._

* * *

"Ciel, the horse is ready." he heard Loss say.

She hadn't noticed that his mind was far away, trapped in some awful memory.

"C'mon Ciel," she said while tugging on his arm. "It's getting dark. We need to get going if we want to make it by midnight."

One half of Ciel's mind was still lost in his past, but the half that was in the present responded to Loss.

"Sorry," he murmured, pushing away her open hand and dragging himself up.

"Hey," she said softly with a hand on his shoulder, "Sebastian's gonna be fine, okay?"

He looked at her with eyes that shined with tears he refused to let fall. He was too proud, too strong to cry.

"Okay," he whispered.

Loss pulled him into a gentle hug, which Ciel didn't fight, though he didn't accept it either. She pulled away and took his hand, leading him to Agro, who was quietly drinking water at the river's edge. She mounted the horse and helped Ciel up. She flicked the reins, and the horse set off away from the setting sun.

* * *

_"Demon," the boy said while wiping the blood away from his newly marked eye, "what is your name?"_

_The dark butler stopped and looked over his shoulder with a slight smirk on his face. "Whatever my master wishes."_

_"Then..." The boy thought for a moment, combing his mind for possible names. His beloved dog came into the view of his mind's eye._

_"Sebastian" He decided, "From now on, your name will be Sebastian."_

_The boy looked into the setting sun, smiling slightly._

_"Certainly," The newly named demon said, "Well then, please call me Sebastian. Was that the name of your former butler?"_

_"No," the boy said to the ground, "It was my dog's name."_

_Sebastian looked heavily offended._

_"You need a last name too, don't you?" Ciel asked._

_The demon said nothing._

_Ciel suddenly thought of Michaelis. A lone angel who had somehow ended up in his hell. The man who died because of him. Ciel felt that he needed to honor him in someway._

_"Michaelis," he murmured, "Sebastian Michaelis." he let the name soak in. "I like it."_

_The butler bowed. __"Of course. Give me an order, my little lord."_

* * *

**_Have you ever had one of those really intense self-hate moments? I had one of those when I read this chapter. I wanted to shoot myself in the face. Hmm, maybe I'm getting depressed again._**

**_Oh guys, guess what! minus the AN, this chapter is 1,669 words long. Hee hee heheheh... Your Guardian Demon has a dirty mind._**

**_And really? only 1 review last chapter? Some fans you are. I should discontinue this story right now as punishment. I'm letting you off the hook this time, but let me just lay down the law here_**

**_NO REVIEWS, NO STORY! _**

**_Have I made myself perfectly clear? I hope so. If you didn't get it, let me try again._**

**_NO UPDATES UNTIL UNTIL THIS STORY HITS 30 REVIEWS! I'm serious about this guys._**

**_I'm a review whore, so I'm allowed to shamelessly beg for reviews._**

**_PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE! PLEASE REVIEW! I don't care if you do anything else, you can leave a total troll/hate message, as long as it's still an honest review! Reviews feed my endless imagination and allow me to come up with more crappy ideas for this crappy story._**

**_alright, now that's over. GO VOTE IN THE POLL IN MY PROFILE_**

**_READ AND REVIEW ALL MY OTHER CRAPPY STORIES!_**

**_REQUEST YOUR STORIES BY PMING ME!_**

**_ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS STORY IN THE REVIEWS! THEY SHALL BE ANSWERED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!_**

**_You get to do whatever you want with Sebastian for a full 24 hours if you do._**


	9. His Butler, Found

_**Questions from last chapter**_

_**From: I HAS QUESTIONS :D (xD nice name)**_

_**Q: Are Loss and Akuma related at all? Possibly, Loss is Akuma's mother? Sister? Perhaps they are the same person?  
A: They are, in fact related. xD and not the same person. That would be weird.**_

_**Q:She has great knowledge when it comes to the world of angels and demons and things of the like, which leads me to believe she is not human.. She also seems to care for Sebastian, but at the same time fears him. Do I sense unrequited love? She is concerned for Ciel, but I think it might just be for Sebastian's sake.**_

_**A: Long-ass question you got there. You are correct again. Loss is not human, but for the interest of not spoiling the entire story I'm not going to state what race she is.  
As for the bit about unrequited love... well, it was a good guess xD  
Loss is truly concerned for Ciel's wellbeing. Why? hehe I've already told you too much!**_

* * *

The rhythmatic pounding of Agro's hooves was the only sound that disturbed the otherwise silent night. Ciel had never been so far from the city. Nor had the stars ever seemed so bright to him, even with the swirling clouds covering most of them. The moon's light struggled to break through. He could barely see a thing, though Loss had no trouble navigating the sometimes tricky terrain. Some time ago, they had passed the Tower of London. The thought of seeing whatever damage had been done to Sebastian was making Ciel anxious.

The moon had finally managed to break through the cloud cover, and some distance ahead, Ciel could see a crumbling sentry tower surrounded by a forest of half dead trees.

The horse suddenly skidded to a stop, causing Ciel to slam into Loss. She was staring at the tower with wide eyes. Her face was expressionless, except for the fact that here eyebrows were slightly furrowed in what could have been fear. She looked over her shoulder, as if she was trying to decide whether or not she should turn around or not. Ciel was growing upset at her behavior, but before he could do anything, a flock of birds took wing, fleeing from the tower.

They scattered in all directions, shrieking and calling. A few flew over the horse, who was starting to rear and whinny in distress.

Ciel held out his hand, and caught a single black feather. He ran a finger over the sleek surface, and felt a faint twinge of pain in his broken contract seal.

"Loss...?"

The woman had just snatched the feather out of his hand. It caught the moon's light and threw it out in ways that seemed to give it a soft, unnatural glow. She stared at it, and a single stray tear leaked down her cheek.

"Loss!"

Ciel's voice snapped her out of the strange trance she seemed to be in. A look of grim determination found its way onto her face. She looked Ciel in the eyes, and carefully tucked the feather behind his ear, muttering something he couldn't quite understand. She turned around and lead the horse on.

The speed of the horse's hooves was nothing compared to the pounding of Ciel's heart. They dove into the eerie forest, hoping they were doing the right thing. The horse jumped over a fallen tree and plowed through a dying stream. The trees thinned and eventually cleared, bringing them right in front of the looming tower.

Loss leaped off the horse and turned to pull Ciel off. He looked up, seeing the faint glow of firelight coming from the window at the top of the tower. He took a deep breath and started forward. Loss took a moment to urge the horse away from the area before following.

The rotting wooden door was easy to kick open, and once they were inside, the neglect the place had suffered became apparent. The walls were full of cracks and the floor was covered in mold and moss. The thick air had a musty smell. Hidden in the shadows was a crumbling stair case. The bad air was messing with Ciel's asthma, and he struggled to stifle a cough. Taking Loss' hand, they made their way up the stairs.

As they made their way up through the tower floors, they encountered a encountered an army of the inhuman beings Loss had called pure souls. They stood stone still at various posts throughout the tower. Ciel would have thought they were statues, except for the fact that their eyes never left them.

"Why aren't they doing anything?" Ciel asked quietly.

"They cannot do anything unless ordered to. They are under the absolute control of their master." She answered in a hushed voice.

Ciel gulped.

"Once the angel knows we are here, I'm sure they'll be all over us." She whispered.

The higher they climbed, the more disturbing things got. What started out as a empty, musty room at the bottom of the stairs turned into a full-scale armory filled with blood stained weapons. Somewhere near the top, they passed a fully furnished torture chamber, topped off with rotting skeletons chained to the walls.

After climbing for nearly an hour, the stairs led to a torch-lit hallway that ended at a heavy wooden door. Ciel swallowed. He knew that Sebastian was behind that door. He quietly walked to the door, and slowly turned the handle.

Locked.

He looked behind him and spotted a nervous-looking Loss. In her hand she held one of the daggers she kept concealed in her sleeve. She motioned him to move out of the way. Ciel did as he was told, and Loss raised the blade over the handle. There was a loud thud as the wooden doorknob fell to the floor.

Loss closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then opened the door.

The disgusting, metallic scent of blood hit Ciel like a slap in the face. Loss seemed to be shocked into stone. Her hand was still on the knob. She had stopped moving, her eyes were wide and fixed on the room. If he hadn't known any better, he would have thought she had stopped breathing.

Panicked by her reaction, Ciel pushed passed her and made his way into the room.

What he saw made him feel like he was about to vomit.

Sebastian was lying on his stomach, surrounded in a pool of his own blood. The butler's glassy eyes were opened and unfocused. Ciel could see the reflected firelight flickering in them. There were blood red tear tracks running down his face, as well as a stream of blood dripping from the corcer of his mouth. His black hair had lost all its shine, and framed his face in a thin, greasy mat. His bare torso had all the marks of unspeakable violence on it. The slashes and stab wounds on his back were deep enough to kill a person. There were angry scratch marks and whip lashes covering nearly every inch of skin. The end of his right arm ended in a bloody stump with a jagged bone sticking out. He saw the hand at the far end of the room.

But that wasn't what made Ciel want to cry. Not what made him want to scream, or run away and curl up in a ball.

It was the ring of burned flesh on the demons back, the brand that looked identical to Ciel's.

At the sound of the entrance, the Sebastian's eyes moved away from the fire and into his master's horrified face. The demon blinked, but other than that didn't seem to notice either of them.

Ciel took a step forward, then another. He was completely unaware of his actions, just of the fact that he needed to somehow mend his shattered butler.

"If you wish to see the demon die, by all means keep going closer." a female voice said.

Ciel suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around him, and he looked up to see Loss protectively holding him. She was staring ahead of him with a look of pure rage on her features. Ciel looked to see what she was glaring at, and noticed the winged figure standing before Sebastian that he didn't see when he came in. He immediately began to tremble and he shrank in Loss' embrace. He knew that person too well.

The priestess.

"Lillium," Loss spat.

* * *

_**I DIDN'T DO A GRAMMAR READ-THROUGH OF THIS CHAPTER BEFORE POSTING SO DON'T BUG ME ABOUT THE SHITTON OF MISTAKES IN HERE!**_

_**Holy fuck I fucking love you guys. I've been working on this chapter for like 7 fucking hours straight ever since I reached 30. that's how much I love you guys. I'm going to post the next chapter sometime tomorrow, regardless of reviews. That's how much I fucking love you guys. You sexy mother fuckers.**_

_**About this chapter. I'm happy with everything except the ending. The ending is bullshit, kay? **_

_**Hey guys, guess what? In the next chapter, LOSS' NAME WILL BE REVEALED! Along with the real reason Sebastian has to put up with Lillium's bullshit.**__**and then a NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE. **_

_**In the near future you will also be finding out Sebastian and Loss' relationship with each other, Why Loss cares so much for Ciel, why Loss changed her name in the first place, and Akuma's place in all this drama! Damn this fic should be a soap opera.**_

_**Raven and the Wolf update sometime next week.**_

_**MY ONE-SHOT SERIES IS NEARLY DONE! It will mostly be about really fucking sad character deaths, and contains around 5 shots.**_

_**So, until next time:**_

_**READ MY OTHER SHITTY STORIES.**_

_**VOTE IN MY SHITTY POLL.**_

_**ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS STORY.**_

_**REQUEST YOUR OWN STORIES.**_

_**Claude will now pole dance in a bunny costume for your amusement**_

_**BYE! ^_^**_


	10. His Master, Fighting

_**HEY ARISA, I FINALLY UPDATED! YOU HAPPY NOW, YOU LOVABLE BITCH!?**_

_**Questions from last chapter:**_

_**From: DanelleSephton  
**__**Q: This is really gr8. I have a question too; **__**Will you be going more into the OC character relationships more, or will there be any thing canon? You hint at what will happen to the OC's but really only that. I ask this because I luv me a good friendship, hurt/comfort, but no one ever really writes them, let alone w/ poor sebby being the victim.  
A: I plan on sticking to Ciel/Lizzie. There are going to be hints of a one-sided Ciel/Akuma, though. As with Sebastian and Loss, well, I'll get back to you about that later ;)**_

* * *

The angel gave a sweet, false grin. "Loss!" she said, "That is the name you still go by, correct? Or did you give yourself another?"

With one arm still shielding Ciel, Loss retrieved the dagger she concealed in her other sleeve.

"My name is Loss, and that is what you are to call me."

Lillium shook her head, causing her heavy brown curls to bounce slightly. Her slightly tanned skin was stained with black blood. She fixed her emerald eyes on Loss in a piercing stare.

"Your name isn't Loss," The angel said simply, "Do you not want that child to know? I would be more than happy to tell him."

Loss pushed Ciel behind her, "He has nothing to do with this." she hissed.

"Protective are we?" Lillium taunted, "What ever happened to your darling daughter?"

Loss stared at her with no attempt to hide the hatred in her face.

"I think we both know," she said.

The angel shrugged. "Either way the boy was everything to do with this. His soul belongs to a demon! A demon slated for death, in fact!"

Loss tilted her head. "Only archangels can order demons killed, and they typically kill them in person." she said calmly, "And last I checked, you are not a archangel."

Lillium gave a cold smile. "Sebastian Michaelis was supposed to be killed over a century ago. Your brother ordered the killing himself!"

"Wait," Ciel interrupted, "What the hell are you talking about!?"

They both ignored him

Loss smirked. "Azrael is not one to leave things undone. If he ordered Sebastian dead a century ago, Sebastian would have been killed a century ago."

"The demon has been difficult to track up to this point..." Lillium said quietly.

"If a lowly angel such as yourself can manage to track him down, I believe Azrael wouldn't have any trouble." Loss said

"How dare you!?" Lillium yelled, "I'm a Dominion! I rank above the Powers!"

"That is irrelevant," Loss stated calmly, "A Dominion's job is simply to regulate the duties of other angels, not to do their jobs for them. It is nearly unheard of for a Dominion to make themselves physically known to this world."

Lillium remain silent.

"What a pity," Loss said, "I've been outcast from the heavens, yet I still seem to make a better angel than you."

Lillium spread her wings. "How dare you!?" she shrieked. "you have no right, _no right_, to say that!"

She reached over her shoulder for the sword she kept sheathed in a scabbard tied to her back. She raised the blade to eye level, then rushed Loss.

"Loss, get out of the way!" Ciel yelled.

there was the sound of air moving, and then Loss was wrapped in a pair of black, ragged wings. She hissed in pain when the sword plunged into the tip of her left wing, but was still grateful that it hadn't been through her heart. Before Lillium had the chance to pull the blade out, Loss rapidly spread her wings and sent the blade clattering before her.

"L-Loss!?" from behind she could hear Ciel yelling in a frightened voice.

"Just stay down and help Sebastian," she hissed.

Loss stepped in between the now disarmed Lillium and Sebastian. Ciel crawled over to his fallen butler and began to check his vitals.

Loss kicked the blade towards the angel. and loosely tucked her wings in

"Pick up the sword Lillium." Loss said steadily, "If you wish to fight me then so be it, but it _will_ be a fair fight."

Lillium smiled slightly and picked up the blade. Loss raised her daggers and crossed them over her chest. They stared at each other; the Graceful and the Graceless. Loss charged.

* * *

Ciel was completely oblivious to what was going on behind him. His only concern was for Sebastian. He knelt down in front of Sebastian's face and brushed the hair out of his face, trying his best to ignore the blood soaking through his clothes. The butler gave no response. If it hadn't been for the irregular, shallow breaths the demon was drawing, Ciel would have thought him dead.

"Hey," he whispered, "Sebastian. Sebastian, can you hear me?"

Sebastian's eyes flicked up to look at Ciel. They were unfocused, glassy, and completely devoid of any and all light. Ciel had seen those eyes before. Back in the occult. Those eyes belonged to the kids who had given up all hope. The ones who just let go of life and slowly started wasting away. The ones who had been trapped and abused for so long that they were just shells of the people they once were.

Breaking a human was easy, but a demon? Ciel shook his head, trying to fight back tears.

"Sebastian," he said, "get up. That's an order."

Sebastian did nothing but stare at his master and blink.

Silence.

"Sebastian, you are my butler. Say something."

The demon let out a shaky breath. "Y-yes, my l-lord." he rasped.

Relief crashed over Ciel, and he found himself grinning in response.

That's when he registered Loss screaming.

* * *

Loss was a skilled fighter, but her two daggers were simply not enough to take on Lillium and her Heavenly Sword. She was constantly having to defend herself, and was never able to launch an attack of her own. Eventually, Lillium had backed Loss against the wall. The latter was weakened, with a multitude of slashes and stab wounds covering most of her exposed skin, along with a few rips in her dress.

Lillium smiled victoriously, and sent the sword flying towards her heart. Loss shifted at the last second, and the sword plunged into her upper chest instead, narrowly missing her lungs and heart. Loss screamed. The sword literally impaled her, going all the way through he chest with the tip peeking out through her back. She began to writhe beneath the angel that had her pinned to the wall.

Lillium let out a small chuckle, "You remind me so much of Sebastian right now. How he would plead and cry and scream."

The comment infuriated Loss, and taking a deep breath to muster all of her strength, she kicked Lillium squarely in the chest. The angel flew back a foot or two, and landed harshly on her back.

Loss stood straight up, panting and shivering. She dropped her daggers and reached for the hilt of the sword, and with a sharp groan of pain pulled it from her chest. She walked on unsteady feet to where Lillium lay struggling to breathe. Loss planted her foot firmly on Lillium's chest, effectively pinning her down. The angel's winged beat uselessly against the ground.

"This is the blade of my once-brother Azrael, the Archangel of Death." Loss said. "Tell me why you have it in your possession!"

"A-Azrael ordered the death of-"

"LIAR!" Loss yelled, "If Azrael ordered this death, he would have carried it out himself! He would never, _ever_, allow another to wield his blade! Tell me the truth!"

The foot on Lillium's chest pressed down harder, demanding an answer.

"A-aah!" the angel gasped in pain, "F-fine! I stole the damn s-sword!"

"_WHY!?"_

"Th-that demon interrupted a r-ritual! He s-stole the sacrifice and killed th-the templars! He deserve to die!"

Loss looked down coldly at the angel. "I think you are the one who needs to die."

She raised the blade.

"S-stop!" Lillium shrieked. "I CAN GET YOUR DAUGHTER BACK!"

Loss hesitated. "Akuma is dead..."

"N-no!" Lillium yelled, "Akuma is alive! She is in this tower, locked in the room beneath this one."

Loss's face contorted in fury. "You locked _my daughter _away in some room!?"

She plunged the blade down into one of her wings. It drove deeply through the center, going all the way through and pinning the wing to the ground below. Lillium screamed in agony.

"L-Leila," the angel whispered, "spare me."

Loss smiled sadistically "I told you not to call me that name. Death would be a mercy compared to what I'm about to do now."

"Leila, I can get your rank back." Lillium rasped, "I can return you to grace, to the full power you once had as the Night's Archangel. You can see your brother again, you can be loved. All you have to do is kill the demon."

Leila leaned down to stare at Lillium. "Not interested." She said simply.

She twisted the sword, causing the wing to rip and tear beneath her and Lillium to scream out.

"You claim to be a Dominions angel? You say you can restore my power?" Leila asked, "Even if I don't kill you, I'm sure Azrael will when he finds out what you've done."

Lillium closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. She stopped moving completely. Leila would have thought her dead, except for the fact that she was still breathing.

"L-Le...ila,"

The fallen angel turned at the sound of Sebastian's weak voice. The demon was staring up at her with eyes full of disbelief. He had the smallest hints of a genuine smile playing at the edges of his lips.

"Y-you're... alive..."

She ruffled her wings slightly and smiled, "Yeah. I still am, aren't I?"

She clutched at the wound on her chest, swaying slightly as her eyes filled with pain. Sebastian grinned at her for the briefest moment. He let out a long breath as his eyes rolled up into his head.

The demon went limp.

* * *

_**HAI GUYS!**_

_**Wait, before you shoot me, let me just tell you that Sebastian IS NOT DEAD! Not yet anyways... Aw c'mon! Don't look at me like that. I warned you last chapter there was gonna be a near-death experience, didn't I?**_

_**Lillium means 'lilly' in latin. I thought it would be a good name for an angel... yeah I know it sucks don't judge me.**_

_**Leila means 'night' in hebrew. She used to be called the Night's Archangel.**_

_**Most angels have either Greek, Latin, or Hebrew names... Just saying because most people think that character with unusual names are Mary-Sues. Yes, Loss was a very unusual name, but you have to remember that it wasn't her actual name. **_

_**I'd like to thank Arisa, Abby, Blackcat, and Promocat for all of their continued support and constant reviews. You guys are fucking amazing and I hereby dedicate this chapter to the four of you.**_

_**I don't know when I can update this puppy again, but I do hope it can be soon.**_

_**In the meantime,**_

_**READ MY OTHER SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**VOTE IN MY SHITTY POLLS**_

_**ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS SHITTY STORY!**_

_**REQUEST YOUR OWN SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**Hmm, you guys seemed very amused with pole-dancing bunny-Claude last chapter.**_

_**Sebastian will now do a drunken strip tease for your amusement. **_

_**BYE! ^_^**_


	11. His Butler, Falling

_**HOLY FUCKING SHIT 50 REVIEWS OMG AAAHHHHHHH JDKLBGFJHDABDKJHAGB!*Explodes into rainbow confetti***_

_**50 reviews... wow I love you guys so much.**_

_**Questions from last chapter.**_

_**From: Fudgecakes  
After reading this chapter, I want to ask you something.. PLEASE DON'T KILL SEBASTIAN PLEASE? And I really want to know what is the relationship between Sebastian and Leila/Loss. I wonder if Akuma is the daughter of Sebastian and Leila XD I hope my question would be answered because I LOVE THIS FAN-FIC :3**_

_**A:  
Alright, alright! I won't kill him this chapter. The relationship between Sebastian and Leila is a bit complicated. For example, Sebastian thought Leila died over a decade ago. And Akuma is Leila's daughter. Confirmed in this chapter.**_

_**From: Nox Arcana  
question! :D  
Did Sebastian cause Loss to fall from grace?**_

_**A:  
He was involved, but he's only part of the reason why she was cast down. Nice name by the way ^_^ I love that band.**_

* * *

Ciel paled and swallowed. "Sebastian?"

He reached out and gently shook Sebastian's shoulders. "Wake up." he said in a voice that struggled to hold steady, "That's an order, Sebastian."

The butler remained motionless, his eyes continuing to stare unseeingly ahead. No breath escaped the body. The lack of response from Sebastian sent Ciel into a panic. He kicked his butler so that he rolled onto his back, then stood over him to strike his hand across his face.

"Sebastian! I did not come all this way to find you, only to have watch you die!" he screamed, "NOW WAKE UP!"

He stopped when he felt Leila's hand on his wrist.

"Stop..." she whispered, "Please. Hitting him will achieve nothing."

Leila stared stone-faced at the ground. Ciel could see her trying to blink away tears, even though they were already sliding down her face. She cried silently, reaching out to touch Sebastian's blood-stained cheek.

"His injuries were beyond our help." she said in a strained voice, "There is nothing to be done."

Ciel watched in silence, ignoring the sting in his eyes. He refused to believe what Leila was telling him.

"No," he murmured. "No..."

Leila ignored him and stood, taking one last look at the fallen demon before turning to Ciel.

"We need to go," she said, "Lillium's pure souls..."

Ciel wasn't even listening. He was still kneeling at his butler's side, running a finger over a cross Lillium had carved over his heart. He knew very well that religious relics or symbols had little effect on the demon. Lillium had marked him out of arrogance.

"Ciel..." Leila whispered, shaking his shoulder.

"We're taking him with us." Ciel murmured, finally letting the tears fall.

She hesitated for a moment. "He'll only slow us down... he'd understand."

"I don't care," he said louder, "He's coming with us... he's not dead."

Leila sighed and bent over. After struggling for a bit, she had Sebastian slung over her shoulders in a fireman's lift.

"I never said he was dead, Ciel." Leila whispered.

Ciel nodded, but said nothing. Leila walked over to the open window, put her fingers to her lips, and let out a long, shrill whistle. Not long after, they both heard the whinny of a horse. She turned to Ciel.

"I'll drop him off on the ground, then climb back up to get you, okay?" she asked.

"Climb?" Ciel said. "Can't you fly?"

Leila couldn't help but laugh slightly. She fully spread her wings. They were huge and fragile. The feathers were black and ragged. There were patches of bare skin stretched over bone where the feathers fell out. the skin was torn in many places. There was a gaping hole left by Lillium's stolen blade. Every bone looked to be painfully broken, and Ciel could see one or two bones speared through the skin. Angel wings were said to be beautiful, but Leila's wings looked as if they were decomposing. They were disgusting.

"My kind do not fly. I'm lucky to still have wings. They are usually torn from our backs when we fall."

Ciel swallowed. Leila, thinking she had made her point, carefully tucked her damaged wings away. She slung one leg over the window.

"Scream if something happens." she said before allowing herself to drop.

Ciel sighed and turned around to take in the room. What had Los- Leila meant when she said he wasn't dead? Hadn't she said herself that _his injuries are beyond help?_ Sebastian had certainly looked dead, but was there a chance that he wasn't?

His eyes drifted shut as he wondered what he would do without Sebastian. He could always summon another demon, right? But was he really that desperate for revenge?

No. It was more than that. He _needed_ Sebastian. Ciel had foolishly chosen to completely and wholeheartedly rely on the demon. He was nothing without Sebastian, nothing but a pitiful, powerless earl. To Ciel, Sebastian was more of a savior to him than any god was. It was almost as if Ciel had gotten his father back in the form of Sebastian. Almost...

Ciel knew full and well that Sebastian saw him as nothing more than a bratty child. Less than that, Sebastian only saw him as a meal. A very satisfying one, more or less. One that will take a bit of time and trouble to prepare, if nothing else. In his heart of hearts, he knew that Sebastian would be the end of him. His trivial emotions would do nothing to change that fate.

But if that was the case, how come Sebastian seemed so concerned for him that night at the manor? He had turned into a complete maniac trying to make him flee. Yes, it stated in the contract that Sebastian had to defend Ciel's life above anything else, but if he was only concerned for him because of the contract, it would have been a bit obvious. The genuine concern, the fear in his face and voice gave it all away.

He opened his eyes as he heard someone trying the door handle. His eyes frantically searched the room, and he ducked behind a chest in a shadowy corner just as the door opened.

A young, black-haired girl around Ciel's age stepped inside, followed by two pure souls. Her gray-blue eyes scanned the room, and when they settled on Lillium, she screamed.

"Mother!?" The girl rushed to the angel's side in hysterics, shaking and pleading with her in an attempt to rouse her. She noticed the blade in Lillium's wing and pulled it out and dropped it on the ground next to her.

"Who did this!?" she screamed, "Tell me who did this, mom! I will make them pay!"

Lillium has beginning to come to. She groaned in pain and shuddered slightly. She said something in a slurred voice that no one could understand, before grasping the girls hand in an attempt to drag herself off the ground.

"A-Akuma!?"

No one had noticed Leila when she climbed back in. She had seen the entire thing, horrified with tears streaming down her face as she watched her own daughter call another woman her mother.

Ciel jumped in surprise. He nearly yelled in relief, but managed the keep quiet in interest of not being caught.

At the sound of her name, Akuma dropped Lillium's hand, stood up and turned. She narrowed her eyes in a cold stare at Leila.

"Who are you?" she hissed. "Are you the one who did this?"

Leila swallowed. "Akuma... don't you know who I am?"

Akuma continued to glare at her even as she reached down and picked up Azrael's blade.

"No." she said angrily. "Tell me what you did to my mother."

"Akuma..." Leila breathed

"How do you know my name?" Akuma spat.

"Akuma," Leila repeated. "Lillium is not your mother."

Akuma growled and raised the blade. "Bullshit," she snarled, "If you're not, then who is?"

Leila took a deep breath. "I am."

* * *

_**Awww, wasn't that the cutest family reunion scene you have ever read? Huh? Wait, No? Well fuck you then. Didn't I say a few chapters back that you would be surprised when Akuma came into the story? I bet no one expected has a pottymouf. Teehee.**_

_**So I recently posted yet another death-shot about Ciel. You might want to check that out.**_

_**I'm sorry for not updating in forever. For some reason I had a real bad case of writer's block with this chapter. I didn't do a grammar run either, so don't call me out on any mistakes. I keep getting slammed with schoolwork, So let me just tell you that I will try to put out two updates a week. (usually on the weekends.)**_

_**Until we meet again,**_

_**READ MY OTHER SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**VOTE IN MY SHITTY POLLS**_

_**ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS SHITTY STORY!**_

_**REQUEST YOUR OWN SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**Ciel and Alois will now entertain you by having a sexy make-out session.**_

_**BYE! ^_^**_


	12. His Master, Escaping

_**SUPER-IMPORTANT MEGA-AWESOME ANNOUNCEMENT!**_

_**I am now taking requests for one-shot stories! It could be about anything you want! (Even Sebaciel, though I hate that ship. (seclaudestian and cielois FTW!)) If you want to make a oneshot request, let me know what you want written in the reviews or by PM. I'll try to publish it ASAP. I'm also going to put your name in the fic so if you want to stay anon make sure you let me know!**_

_**END **__**SUPER-IMPORTANT MEGA-AWESOME ANNOUNCEMENT!**_

_**Now that that's outta the way, please allow me to sing you the feels song while you read this glorious work of literature that I just pulled out of my ass... **_

* * *

Akuma's eyes widened in surprise and she lowered her blade slightly.

"You?" she asked, "Seriously? Please, that joke isn't even funny!"

Leila looked a bit taken aback. "Please, Akuma, you have to believe me. Whatever Lillium told you was a lie!"

Akuma smirked, and Ciel was struck by how achingly familiar the expression was.

"Lillium didn't have to tell me anything I didn't know." she said simply, "Lillium raised me. She saved me when _they_ took me away-"

"No!" Leila interrupted. "Lillium was the one who took you away! She nearly killed you!"

Akuma's gaze suddenly turned sinister, and for the briefest moment, her deep gray-blue eyes flashed into a pair red slits.

"Lies..." she whispered. "All of it, lies..."

"Akuma-"

"SHUT UP!" she suddenly screamed.

Akuma charged Leila down with the blade, an attack the fallen angel narrowly missed. Leila rolled away and came up behind her daughter, putting a hand on her shoulder. Akuma whirled around, and Leila had to duck to avoid losing her head to the blade.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!"

Akuma's voice had changed. It was no longer the smooth, medium voice of a teen. In it's place where two different voices speaking together in a loose sync. One was that of a deep male voice that sounded like an angered beast. The other was a heavily distorted whispering female, high and raspy. Her voice sounded like wind blowing through empty trees.

Leila nearly cringed in fear. "Please Akuma, hear me out!"

An aura of swirling black and purple had begun to spiral about Akuma. She crouched slightly with the blade held out in front of her.

"I thought they had killed you," Leila whispered. "I tried to save you when Lillium took you, but-"

Akuma suddenly cut her off, throwing her against the wall and pressing the blade against her neck.

"I don't want to hear your lies." she growled in her harsh demonic voice.

"L-Lillium... is o-only ...u-using you." Leila choked out. "Sh-She doesn't l-love... you, she's p-probably... going to l-kill you... when she f-finds no... no u-use for you a-anymore."

Akuma snarled and pressed the blade harder against Leila's neck, causing her to whimper as beads of blood began to appear.

"Then what is she using me for, huh?"

Leila couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak. The only sound she got out was a strangled cough.

Ciel finally couldn't watch anymore. Drawing one of Leila's daggers from his belt, he stood and threw it in Akuma's general direction. He purposely missed, favoring to send it whizzing past her head than into her shoulder. The blade stuck into the wall next to Leila's head, and startled Akuma to the point where she nearly dropped the blade.

"That is enough!" he yelled.

Completely forgetting about Leila, she whirled around to see who had thrown the dagger. Her mouth dropped when she saw Ciel.

"Ciel?" she whispered in shock.

Her voice had returned to normal, all traces of demonic influence gone.

The boy said nothing, he looked over Akuma's shoulder to meet Leila's eyes. She was kneeling on the floor, rubbing her neck and gasping.

Akuma turned to see what Ciel was looking at. The demonic aura surrounding her suddenly dissipated .

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "You're not with _her_, are you?"

Ciel looked up to meet her gaze, and he was reminded almost painfully of the last time he saw her.

"She is telling the truth, Akuma." he said while staring directly into her eyes.

She froze. She looked back and forth between Leila and Lillium, who had long since stopped struggling to stand and simply lay still on the floor once more. She took a deep breath as a pained expression came over her. Suddenly she had tears streaming down her face, and was viciously pointing a finger at Ciel.

"No!" She screamed. "You're lying! YOU'RE LYING! Both of you! LIARS!"

Ciel backed up a few steps. "Akuma calm down!" He raised his hands in front of his face to protect himself.

"Liars!" She shrieked, "Mom wouldn't do that! She loves me! She's the _only one_ who loves me!"

Her aura exploded around her.

"I trusted you!" she yelled in hysterics, "I trusted you, and you lied to me!"

He spotted Leila silently crawling away from Akuma. She was heading towards the left wall, where Sebastian's chains hung.

"I should have never trusted you!" Akuma screamed, "I should have never helped you, or even talked to you! I should have let you die!"

Leila had managed to silently remove the chains from the wall. She held the open cuffs out in her hands as she slowly advanced on her daughter from behind. Akuma raised the blade and pointed it at Ciel's heart, her aura swirled dangerously around her as her eyes glowed red and narrowed to slits. When she spoke, her demonic tones had returned. She spoke her next words in a low hiss that promised death.

"I should have been the one to kill you. Liars cannot be allowed to live."_  
_

Just as she began to charge, Leila leaped and tackled Akuma to the ground. The sword was flung away as she quickly chained the girl, but as soon as Leila attacked, Akuma had begun to scream.

"_animas purus de Lilium, adiuva me!"  
_

Leila suddenly went pale, and put a hand over her daughter's mouth. Akuma kept screaming, even though she was muffled by the hand.

"_principatus sub Lillium, __salvum me!"_

Leila suddenly threw her daughter over her shoulder, and before Ciel knew what was happening, Leila pulled him into her chest and jumped out the window.

"_Ego praecipio vobis ut occideret illos!"_

Akuma could be heard screaming above everything else. She could be heard over the sound of rushing wind as they plummeted over sixty feet to the ground below. She could be heard over Leila desperately moving her useless wings to try and save them. She suddenly flipped in the air, so that her back was facing the ground with Akuma and Ciel on top of her. She wrapped her wings tightly around them and held them close.

They finally hit the ground with a resounding thud. Leila's grip on them suddenly loosened, and her shattered wings lay uselessly beside her. Akuma was silent. Ciel had taken little damage from the fall. He was very shaken up to say the least. He scrambled to stand and saw Leila breathing heavily with her eyes closed. In her arms was an unconscious Akuma.

"Damnit, are you okay!?"

Leila stirred slightly, groaning in pain as her body protested the movement.

"Get the horse..." she breathed, "We need to get out of here. Akuma just summoned the pure souls."

Ciel sighed in relief and whistled for the horse. He watched Leila closely, and gasped in surprise when he saw her wings beginning to become completely enveloped in shadow.

"L-Loss!"

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Don't call me Loss." She said firmly. "That's not my name."

Ciel swallowed. "Leila?"

She nodded. "As for the wings, this is normal." She mumbled. "I don't need them at the moment, so I might as well put them away, right?"

A breeze suddenly went by, causing her wings to dissipate in a cloud black feathers. Agro suddenly skidded to a stop behind Ciel, almost running the boy over. He noticed Sebastian, lifeless as over, strung over the horse's saddle. At the same moment, the door to the tower burst open, and a small army of pure souls flooded out. Suddenly Leila seemed to snap out of the daze she was in.

"Shit..." she breathed, dragging herself to her feet with her daughter still in her arms.

She pushed Ciel towards the horse and threw him on in front of Sebastian. A volley of arrows suddenly rained down from above. Agro suddenly shot her head up in fear and nervously pawed the ground with her hoof. Thankfully, all of the arrows missed, but that didn't stop the pure souls who had weapons from advancing further.

"Listen to me," she whispered, "That horse isn't strong enough to carry all four of us. You're gonna have to leave me, and you're gonna need to run. Run as fast and long as the horse can run. Find shelter. I'll meet up with you eventually, I promise"

Ciel swallowed and nodded. Another volley or arrows came down, and Agro spooked and charged away in response, plowing down a few pure souls in the process. Ciel looked over his shoulder to see Leila struggling to break away from the hoard of souls. She slashed her way out of the group and began running at a near inhuman speed towards the forest. The last he ever saw of her was an image of her leaping onto a tree branch and darting out of sight, with the pure souls still hot on her trail.

His eyes rested on the motionless demon for a moment before turning back around to urge the horse forward.

"Sebastian, I swear if you're dead... I'll kill you."

* * *

_**BWAHAHAHA! See what I did there at the end? Yeah... I bet you did. I figured this story could use a little comic relief, no?**_

_**Chapter length (minus A/N): 1500+ words. yayy short chapter is short... fuck it all my chapters are short. A decent length chapter is usually around 2000-2500 words. fuck in legit novels its like 10000 words. DAYUMM**_

_**Leila's gonna have a real shitty time next chapter... just warning you. There is also gonna be a little treat for you guys involving Sebastian ;) (no sex, minds outta the gutters guys!) **__**By the way, there wasn't a lot of reviews last chapter. shame on you guys xD**_

_**Well, that's it for this week guys. If you like this story, please be awesome by:**_

_**READING MY OTHER SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**VOTING IN MY SHITTY POLLS**_

_**ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS SHITTY STORY!**_

_**REQUESTING YOUR OWN SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**Undertaker and Grell will now have adorably creepy, gay incest babies for your amusement.**_

_**BYE! ^_-**_


	13. His Butler, Rising

_**I'm looking for someone cool, awesome and artistically talented to make a banner for this story. If you want to help or are just interested, PM me for details**_

* * *

_**To Lahphantomhives:**_

_**... I fucking love you for this, this amazing assfuck of a review that fucking made my life. Like, we should legitly get our asses married in some beautiful tit-bonding ceremony that may or may not involve unicorn semen. (wait, what?)**_

_**My shitty story doesn't deserve such love. This story is like the STD-infested, four-headed penis of fanfiction, but thanks for giving this weird dick some love and support. It's a real confidence booster.**_

* * *

_**To Arisa:**_

_***gives you a giant cookie* That is the nicest thing anyone has said to me. I love you so platonically hard it isn't even funny. Like seriously... Seriously... thank you. *huggles***_

* * *

_**Questions from last chapter (contains spoilers, read your ow risk):**_

_**From: Fudgecakes  
**__**Q: Yay **__**I have another question, so did Lilium brainwashed Akuma?  
A: You need to remember that an angel's 'signature power' is the ability to re-write one's past. That's what Lillium did with Akuma. Why? Teehee not telling.**_

_**Q:**__**And who might be the father of Akuma since she is kinda like a half-demon or something?**__**  
A: Well, I'm just gonna go ahead and say it since most of you guessed it already: IT'S SEBASTIAN! Except he doesn't know that... NOW STOP ASKING, KAY? xD jk you know I love you.**_

* * *

"Where is she?" an irritated voice spoke.

Ciel wrapped hugged his knees tighter to his chest in a rather ineffective to stay warm. He flinched when lightning laced the sky and left behind a mighty boom. He huddled closer to the wall, trying to make himself as small as possible.

Truth be told, the rock overhang he had chosen to take shelter under offered little protection in the face of the awful storm he was sitting through. The wind blew the heavy rain in every direction, sending the rain in under the overhang and soaking and chilling him to the bone.

"Damn, it's freezing out here..." he said to himself.

The horse laying beside him let out a miserable snuffle, and Ciel patted her and rested against her flank to comfort her. He sighed at the warmth and resisted the urge to snuggle against the horse. He looked over to where Sebastian was laying on his back, still as death. The wound's on the demon's back had finally begun to close The boy reached over and grabbed his butler's wrist for what must have been the hundredth time, only to get the same result he's had a hundred times before: silence. No pulse beat beneath the ice cold skin. Ciel wasn't sure if there was ever a heart beat to begin with.

He shook his head slightly and turned to look back outside at the raging sky. It showed no sign of relenting anytime soon. If anything, the storm seemed to be growing worse and worse. He made a mental note to find better shelter when the opportunity presented itself.

He felt exhausted. The night's events had truly taken a toll on him. He couldn't help but let his thoughts drift as he was wrapped in the horse's steady warmth and pulse. His thoughts suddenly turned to Leila. He wondered vaguely if she was alright. She had seemed very fearful when she sent Sebastian and himself away. He decided to think nothing of it, and closed his eyes.

For the first time in years, his sleep was dreamless.

However, such a peaceful thing never lasted long for Ciel.

After a few hours, the rain had finally let up, though the thunder and lightning still lingered. It was early morning, and the sky was faintly lit. A particularly loud crack of thunder woke him, and he looked up to see Leila, briefly illuminated by the lightning.

She looked awful. She was riddled with slash and stab wounds, he even saw a small pocket knife embedded in her shoulder. There were arrows lodged in various places all over her body, mainly around her back and shoulders, but there was one or two that had gone straight her left leg, which she dragged behind her at a painful angle. Blood dripped from her form, leaving a thin, spotty trail behind her. Her black hair was caked in the crimson liquid. Her blood-splattered face held the expression of unimaginable agony, and every slow movement she made towards Ciel caused her to let out a pained sound. In her arms she clutched a seemingly unharmed, yet still unconscious Akuma.

Ciel let out a surprised yell, and immediately jumped up to help her. He rushed over to her swaying side, and put an arm around her to support her, not caring that her blood was soaking through his already ruined nightshirt. She breathed in relief, and nearly put all her weight on him. He groaned slightly, but somehow managed to stay upright and walking. The rock overhang which he sheltered under was literally ten steps away, but it was going uphill. After a bit of struggle, they made it back under the rock. Ciel could barely stand by that point, and none-too-gently shoved Leila off his shoulders. She was out cold before she hit the ground, her 'sleeping' daughter rolled from her arms.

Ciel took in the scene before him, not knowing what to do. He was left all alone with two (possibly three) injured beings. He had counted on Leila knowing what to do to revive Sebastian, but apparently the pure souls were more trouble than he imagined. Hell, Sebastian was probably long dead for all he knew. Ciel bit his lip, wondering what to do. He decided to try and help Leila in anyway he could before trying to tend to Sebastian.

He knelt beside her and inspected her wounds. Could she die from them? He knew that most other humans would have died long ago from such grievous injuries. He knew very little about doctoring, though he knew that most of her injuries will probably require stitches, lest she get an infection. At the very least, they needed to be bandaged.

Ciel took a deep breath; he had always been a bit squeamish, and he already felt nausea just at the sight of her injuries. He grabbed the handle of the knife in her shoulder, and gently pulled. It slid out with a wet sound that nearly made him gag. He dropped the bloodied knife beside him.

It had taken him nearly an hour to remove all the arrows from her person. There was nothing to close or bandage to wounds with, so he just left them as they were and hoped for the best. By that time the sun was well up in the sky, and the horse was lazily grazing at the bottom of the hill. Whatever appetite Ciel had vanished by the time he was done with Leila, who was beginning to stir slightly.

He shook her shoulder slightly. "Can you hear me?" he asked.

All he got in response was a pained moan. He tried again, shaking her a bit harder. She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder at him.

"Stop..." she whispered, "It hurts... everything..." she trailed off.

Ciel watched her mumble as her eyes began to drift shut.

"Don't all asleep, I need to talk you." He said firmly.

"Mmm..." she hummed, "So tired... everything hurts."

"Tell me what happened." he ordered.

Leila remained silent for some time.

"Answer me!" Ciel hissed.

"T-too many of them..." she breathed. "Couldn't get away..."

Ciel hesitated for a moment. "Well, you're going to be okay, right?"

She took a moment to answer. "Mhmm... probably."

Ciel could tell she was going to pass out again any second, so he got in one more question.

"What do I do about Sebastian?"

She opened her eyes slightly. "Blood is precious," she whispered, "His seal... In your blood... _Hoheo taralna, rondero tarel... Raum... Raum..."_

She stopped speaking suddenly, and closed her eyes. She let out a contented sigh as sleep took her once more.

Ciel swallowed, and looked over at his butler, suddenly understanding what she meant. Surely Sebastian would do this for him if the situation was reversed, wouldn't he? Was he really willing to go this far for Sebastian? The boy look at the injuries, the carvings, the blood.

The answer was obvious.

He picked up the knife, and held it over his wrist.

"_Hoheo taralna, rondero tarel. Raum, Raum."_

The knife sliced into the delicate skin, and Ciel bit his lip to hold back a scream.

_"H-hoheo taralna, rondero tarel. Raum, R-Raum..."_

He swallowed the bile rising in his throat, and dabbed a finger in the blood that was quickly pooling from his wrist. Being as exact as he could, he traced Sebastian's mark over the cross Lillium had carved into his chest.

_"Hoheo taralna, rondero tarel. Raum, Raum!"_

He nearly shouted these words, and at that time a faint, icy breeze began to blow. Ciel pulled away, and scooted back against the rwall, not knowing what to expect. The blood on Sebastian's chest seeped into his skin like water sinking into earth.

The demon's chest suddenly heaved as he took a deep, shuddering breath. The breeze suddenly stopped, and Sebastian lay still, his chest barely moving as he took faint, shallow breaths.

Ciel hesitantly crawled back towards his butler, waiting for him to do something. He looked over his shoulder his shoulder at Leila, hoping she would tell him what to do. She was trembling and whimpering in her sleep, her head turning from side to side and lost in whatever haunted her nightmares.

When he turned back to Sebastian, he was surprised to see that the demon's eyes were open and were staring intently into his own. Sebastian's eyes were glowing fuschia slits. They had a pained, feverish light in them.

"Sebastian..?"

Ciel caught his wrist, and felt for a pulse. The heart that beat beneath the skin was weak, slow, irregular. His heart, almost like some pathetic dying butterfly, seemed on the verge of giving up, but still fought, barely fluttering.

The demon suddenly caught sight of Leila, twitching a few feet away. He gently pushed his master aside, and painstakingly dragged himself over to her. He pulled her into his arms and curled himself around her. He breathed her named, buried his nose in her hair and closed his eyes, seemingly drifting off into sleep.

* * *

_**SEBBYxLEILA BITCHES! **_

_**Yup, it's official xD I promised there was gonna be a treat.**_

_**I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I was about halfway through when I crashed, and had to start all over (shitty computer is shitty).**_

_**You guys are probably gonna hate me for this, but I'm going to be taking a hiatus until spring break. The reason being is that I'm failing like half my subjects and if I want to make it to the next grade I'm going to have to do a lot of make-up word and a lot of studying... BOOO!**_

_**And in case you're wondering, yes, I have deleted the Raven and the Wolf. Why? Simply because OC was a mega mary-sue, and the plot was predictable and generic. However if there is someone out there who wants to continue it for me by all means, PM me.**_

_**Sorry if you guys hate me now, but you should know that I still think your sexy and that I love you loads.**_

_**Until we meet again,**_

_**READ MY OTHER SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**VOTE IN MY SHITTY POLLS**_

_**ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS SHITTY STORY!**_

_**REQUEST YOUR OWN SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**Lao will now go streaking for your entertainment...**_

_**BYE! ^_^**_


	14. His Master, Watching

_**HOLY SHIT OMFG AHHHH! -EXPLODES-**_

_**That's basically what you're all thinking right? 'What the hell? I thought Your Guardian Demon was on hiatus!'**_

_**I STILL AM. The only reason I got this posted was because I had the best friend In the world helping me out.(Luv you, Des!) Actually, she pretty much wrote the whole thing. I just touched it up a bit to fit it in with the plot... Her grammar makes me want to kill myself though...**_

_**If anyone cares I wrote this chapter while listening to Nox Arcana and a bunch of OSTs.**_

_**Questions:**_

_**Well, pretty much everyone last week was asking what Hoheo taralna, rondero tarel. Raum, Raum means. I'm not answering that. Everything will be explained in this chapter.**_

_**As for Abby, who asked when Sebastian will find out the Akuma is his daughter... Well, let me just tell you the situation will be awkward... **_

_**Amywxue, I that will be explained by the end of the chapter. If you're still confused, feel free to contact me.**_

* * *

_The red-eyed demon clung tighter to the tree branch, powerless to do anything but watch in fear as the slaughter progressed._

_Nothing but watch as angels and demons alike fell, never to rise back up again._

_Nothing but watch as his only friend's head was torn from his body._

_He was nothing._

_He was Powerless..._

_Yet, all the same he knew that these massacres were nothing but an insignificant hurdle in a losing battle. A war that demons had foolishly declared upon angels. A pathetic attempt at a freedom they would never obtain._

_And so the demons would gather. Masses of almost a thousand at any given time. And they would scream their challenge._

_And so the angels would accept their challenge._

_And likewise the angels would kill them with ease._

_That's how it ended each and every time. This war was nothing but a chore to those damned angels._

_The demon was young, yet even he knew this fact. But all the same, he was stupid enough to get swept up in the bloodshed anyway. __What demon could resist such a temptation?_

_As he watched, one angel in particular caught his eye. In contrast to all the white wings surrounding her, a pair of deadly-looking black wings graced her back. The razor-edged feathers were soaked in crimson. She wielded no blade. In truth, she didn't need one. The angel would stretch her wings and slash at anyone who came near. The slick feathers ripped through flesh and bone like hot butter._

_Her slightly-wavy black hair was a mess as it whipped around her enraged face with furious eyes that glowed a purple-blue._

_She was trapped, and surrounded by demons. Death would surely take her now._

_She growled and spread her wings to her full height. The bloodstained feathers erected themselves and glistened eerily. Suddenly, the muscles in the wings tensed, and a volley or feathers shot from their quills and struck the circle of demons with deadly precision._

_Most of the demons fell, either with a feather through their forehead, sliced through the throat, or lodged in their chest._

_The remaining demons stood their ground for a moment longer, but the angel released another volley of arrows, and the demons turned tail and retreated._

_The surviving angels wasted no time in leaving. As soon as the last demon was out of sight, they took to the skies. The black-winged angel watched them go until she was the only angel remaining. When she realized she was alone, she casually walked to the tree where the demon hid, hoping desperately that she wasn't aware of his presence._

_She stopped at the base of the tree and looked up into the branches._

_Their eyes met. He was caught._

_Before he was fully aware of what was going on, the trunk was sliced in two and the tree was falling towards the ground. In a last ditch attempt to save himself, the demon leaped out of the branches and ran for all hell._

_He didn't know how she managed to move so quickly, but suddenly she was standing in front of him with her wings spread out in a threatening manner. He skidded to a stop and narrowly avoided running into her. He took a step back, and nervously stared her down._

_The smallest hint of a smirk came onto her face._

_"A demon who would rather run than fight?" she asked. "How... peculiar."_

_The demon swallowed, but said nothing._

_The angel took a step closer and sniffed the air slightly._

_"You hardly even smell like a demon. How old are you?"_

_The demon hesitated. "Twenty-two," He mumbled._

_"No," the angel said, "I mean how long have you been a demon?"_

_"Oh," he said, "A few weeks, maybe? I haven't kept track..."_

_To his surprise, the angel laughed. He gathered his courage and met her eyes. Their purple-blue glow was long gone, a mild blue-gray color in their place._

_"Why are you laughing at me?" he questioned in a dangerous voice._

_He immediately regretted the decision to speak to her that way, because a second later, he had rows of viciously sharp feathers positioned at his throat._

_"Don't you _dare_ use that tone with me demon," she snarled, "If you want to keep your head, you would apologize."_

_He swallowed. "I'm sorry," he whispered._

_The angel held her wing under his chin for a second longer, before tucking it away behind her back._

_"What is your name?" She asked._

_"Raum," he replied without hesitation._

_"Well, Raum, today is your lucky day." she said cheerfully_

_The demon raised an eyebrow in confusion._

_"Because I'm going to let you walk away alive." she continued, "Do you know how many demons have walked away from me alive before?"_

_Raum said nothing._

_"Exactly zero," she went on, "Making you the first."_

_Raum looked skeptically at her. "And why are you letting me live?" he asked._

_"Because most human-born demons like you die within their first year," she replied, "so I might as well save myself the trouble."_

_Raum snorted. "Thanks... I guess."_

_The angel spread her wings. "Now get out of here before I change my mind." She turned around to took to the air._

* * *

Sebastian sighed in his sleep and wrapped his arms tighter around the fallen angel, looking as though he never wanted to let go.

Ciel Phantomhive leaned back next to Akuma against the rock wall under the overhang, trying to ignore the growling pain in his empty stomach. His eyes followed the grazing horse, and he felt a vague temptation to join the animal and stuff his face with grass. He shook his head and looked over at his injured charges.

Leila's injuries seemed to be healing alright on their own, most of them were already closed by midday, with the exception of the stab wound on her wing and chest. As for Sebastian... Well, at least he was breathing again. His usually pallid skin was flushed, he had a sheen of sweat on his forehead, his breathing was heavily labored, and he was shivering and trembling. Ciel could almost _see _the waves of heat rolling of the demon. His injuries were still oozing blood. His sleep, at least, seemed peaceful, unlike Leila. She was in a cold sweat, and she still whimpered every now and then, but since Sebastian joined her, her thrashing and trembling had ceased.

The boy vaguely wondered what the pair was dreaming of, and looked down at his wrist. The cut he had inflicted upon himself wasn't bleeding anymore, but it was still open and almost constantly stinging. He would probably need to find a bandage or something to cover it eventually.

His stomach growled unusually loud, and he found himself feeling dizzy. He groaned and attempted to stand up. He finally managed to pull himself upright, though he leaned most of his weight on the wall for support. He counted in his head, and concluded that about one day had passed since he's eaten or drank. Four days since this whole mess began. He was surprised at how little time he had actually been missing. This whole ordeal felt like weeks to him.

His eyes scanned the slope for something to eat or drink. There were multiple small puddles littering the ground, left over from last night's downpour. He decided that would have to do. The boy started his way down the slope carefully. He felt as if her would fall down at any moment. He knelt down in front of the nearest puddle and washed his face. He felt much better after he drank most of the water in the puddle. Most of the dizziness had subsided, leaving only a hollow aching and slight nausea in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

The sun was setting low in the sky when Ciel made his way back up to the overhang with a full stomach. Over the course of the day, he had managed to find an assortment of wild berries growing along a dry river bed, to which he happily helped himself too.

When he walked back into the overhang, he was met with a strange sight. Leila was awake and leaning back against the wall with Sebastian's head in her lap. The demon tossing and turning in what appeared to be agony. He was feverishly raving in a language that Ciel had never heard spoken.

Leila hushed him and brushing the hair off of his face. He gave no response to her actions, which only caused her to frown in concern. She didn't even seem to notice Ciel's presence until he loudly cleared his throat, and even then her worried eyes never left the demon.

"I'm glad you're back," she said in a monotone voice, "I was getting worried..."

Ciel stood in front of the two and looked them up and down. "What happened?"

Her face grew angry. "Seraphim," she spat.

Ciel looked confused, "Excuse me?"

"Azrael's blade," she explained, "He calls it 'Seraphim'."

The boy looked down on his butler. "What does that have to do with anything?"

The angel continued to brush her fingers through the ill demon's hair. "Seraphim is one of the most powerful weapons in existence." she said. "The injuries it inflicts aren't likely to heal naturally, and they are particularly painful for demons."

"But Sebastian was fine earlier!" Ciel said.

"Was he?" she asked sarcastically. "Because I really doubt that."

Ciel swallowed as he remembered Sebastian's earlier appearance. He looked as if he was on death's door.

"It's only going to get worse from here," Leila said quietly.

"How so?" Ciel asked.

"Seraphim is like a disease." she murmured. "The pain just gets worse and worse. It drains a demon's energy until there is nothing but a slow, painful death. Most demons go insane..." she trailed off, her eyes glistening.

"Damnit don't start crying." Ciel growled.

Just then, the demon beneath her stirred. He let out a groan of pain and tried to sit up, pushing Leila away from him.

"Sebas...tian?" Ciel took a hesitant step towards his butler

Sebastian leaned against the wall where Leila was, but she quickly jumped up and held her arms in front of Ciel, barring him from coming any closer to his butler.

"Don't." she whispered.

Ciel shook her head and tried to get around her arm, but she kept getting in front of him.

"Are you deaf?" she hissed quietly, "Get back!"

Ciel stopped struggling and silently watched Sebastian. The demon seemed unaware of either of their presence. His head was rested against the wall, his hazy eyes open and staring at the ceiling. His chest rose and fell with labored wheezes, and a thin stream of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. If Ciel hadn't known better, he would have thought his butler was a member of the undead.

"Sebastian," he tried again, "Can you h-"

Leila cut him off by clapping a hand over his mouth. The demon's eyes rolled from the ceiling and onto the boy's face. The simply stared at each other for a small while, and Ciel felt a faint twinge in his marked eye.

Sebastian let out a slight cough, which quickly turned into a full scale fit. The demon retched, and a wave of inky blood flew from his mouth and splattered Ciel's feet. It happened a second time, and the boy only watched with wide eyes as waves after waves of blood poured from his butler's body. He felt himself grow weak at the sight of it.

The demon tried to stand, but collapsed in a mess of his own blood, clutching his chest and writhing and screaming in agony.

Ciel turned desperately to Leila, who was only watching with cold eyes. A single tear fell, but that was all. Ciel returned his attention to Sebastian, who was still screaming and convulsing. He let his loudest scream yet, his chest rising a few inches off the ground from the force of it, then lay limp. His eyes remained open, staring listlessly above him.

Leila for some unknown reason, decided it was safe to approach the demon. She lowered her arm, and slowly walked foraward and kneeled beside Sebastian. Ciel followed suit. He caught his butler's wrist like he had done so many times before. The pulse was weaker than before, and more irregular than ever. Ciel felt a sorrowful ache in his chest.

"Sebastian," he said, "Look at me."

The demon gave no response.

"Hey!" Ciel called. "I'm talking to you, bastard! Look at me when I'm addressing you! Look at your master!" he yelled.

The boy took the demon's head in his hands, and forced their eyes to meet.

"You are not allowed to die, Sebastian. That is an order. We have a contract. Are you listening to me!?" he shouted.

Leila caught the boy's hand before he could strike Sebastian. He turned and glared at her with a face that said he wanted to hit her too.

"Scream at him all you like, it won't make a difference." she said.

"He's not going to die." Ciel said stubbornly, "We have a-"

"You _used_ to have a contract." she corrected him. "And even if you did, that still wouldn't prevent him from dying of this."

"What the hell do you mean by that!?" he retorted.

Leila sighed in frustration and grabbed the jagged stump of Sebastian's right arm.

"Do you see his seal anywhere?" She asked.

"Huh?"

"Do you? Cause I don't!"

Ciel shook his head in confusion "I don't understand..."

Leila threw his arm down. "He doesn't _have_a seal anymore." she explained harshly. "The link between the two of you is void. He is no longer bound to you."

Ciel ripped of the scrap of cloth covering his marked eye. "Then why the hell is this still here?"

"Because the contract is technically still in place. _If_ he manages to re-grow his seal, he will be able to reestablish the link.

The severity of the situation dawned on Ciel. "So is he gonna die or not!?"

Leila frowned. "Very likely..." she murmured to herself.

She glanced over her shoulder at Akuma, who was still dead to the world. She turned her gaze to Ciel.

"Blood is precious." she said aloud.

"So I've heard," Ciel said sarcastically.

"I don't think you understand," she put a hand over his chest. "The soul dwells in the heart, but the energy, the very _lifeforce_ of a person flows through their veins. You gave Sebastian your own blood, and by doing so you gave him the energy he needed to revive."

"_Hoheo taralna, Rodero Tarel..." _Ciel remembered.

"A chant used to summon demons." Leila said. "The chant itself can summon any demon at random. If you speak a specific demon's name, then only that particular demon will come to you."

"_Raum... Raum..." _Ciel said. He looked at his butler. Sebastian looked... peaceful in a way. His eyes had drifted shut, and his breathing had evened out. Ciel could have thought him to be sleeping.

Leila's voice brought him out of his reverie. "Seraphim cut Sebastian's soul from his body. You managed to call it back"

She reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"In his current state, Sebastian's body can't heal on his own."

She pulled him closer and tapped the cut on his wrist. He winced when he saw blood beginning to bead at the surface of the skin.

"But it can with a bit of help."

* * *

_**Fun Fact: Raum is the name of a powerful (and very real) demon in Christian Demonology. He is depicted as a crow, but takes the form of a human at the request of his conjurer (the person who summons him). I'm not even joking. He's real. Look his ass up if you don't believe me.**_

_**Someone (not gonna name names) recently asked for a SebbyxLeila lemon. Sorry to crush your hopes, but the answer is NO!**_

_**Not only no, but HELL NO!**_

_**I cannot write smut for the living life of me, something I learned a long time ago in one of my early attempts here on fanfiction. It has since been deleted and no, you can't see it. Don't even ask. Seriously.**_

_** What? You don't care you say? Well fine! Here's your SebbyxLeila Lemon:**_

_**He put his thingy in her woo-hoo.**_

_**Fucking happy now? You better be... assholes. STOP ASKING**_

_**On a less disgusting note, guess what? I broke my word count record today! :D Minus the A/Ns, this chapter is 2,500+ words. You guys should get me cookies or something...**_

_**...**_

_**No cookies? Fuck you.**_

_**I managed to brings my grades up to a... passing level, I suppose. However I'm still gonna be a bit slow updating and whatnot.**_

_**I also recently posted a new oneshot (requested a looooooong time ago by anon) called Blue eyes. If you guys could go over there and R&R it, you would be awesome forever. I'm still open to one-shot requests, so if there is a story you want written, please post it in the reviews or via PM.**_

_**More news! Since the Raven and the Wolf was been deleted, I have time to begin working on another story. You all voted in the poll, and That Butler, Even in Death was the winner. The poll is still open to anyone who wants to vote on a different story. The first chapter of the story will be posted whenever my lazy ass feels like writing it.**_

_**One more thing: The early chapters will be revised sometime soon. Mainly because Ciel seemed way OOC and they are overall poorly written. The plot won't be affected in any way.**_

_**That's all I have to say for now. I hope these ridiculous A/Ns make you laugh. **_

_**Until we meet again,**_

_**READ MY OTHER SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**VOTE IN MY SHITTY POLLS**_

_**ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS SHITTY STORY!**_

_**REQUEST YOUR OWN SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**Hannah will now flash her boobs for your entertainment...**_

_**BYE! ^_^**_


	15. His Butler, Healing

**_UGHHHH GOD._**

**_This has been like the worst spring break ever. Why? MY FUCKING LAPTOP DIIIED! That's like a death in the family to me. _**

**_I had to write this entire chapter at the public library and their computers are older than me. I was hoping that once I got off my hiatus, I would be able to update twice a week like I used too. but noooooooo! Now, I'm only going to be able to get a chapter out once every OTHER week. I'm soooooo sorry :(  
#FML_**

**_This is a really short filler chapter for you guys. Mainly because I was lacking inspiration._**

* * *

_A gentle breeze stirred the otherwise silent garden, whistling through the branches of dead trees and scattering fallen leaves. The garden had a sinister, abandoned air to it, seeing as how most of the plants were dead, save for a few weeds here and there. The partly-clouded full moon faintly illuminated the garden in a slightly eerie glow. In the center of the garden sat a broken fountain, surrounded a few stone benches. A lone figure sat on one of the benches. Her head was rolled back slightly with her eyes closed, softly humming a relaxed tune as the wind played with her dark hair. She wore a loose, thin black dress covered in rips and bloodstains. The moonlight cast a bluish light over her face, making her already pale skin look a deathly white._

"_Interesting to find you here, of all places." a voice behind her said._

_The woman jumped,slightly. She opened her eyes, and turned her neck so that only half of her face was visible to the stranger. She took in his appearance. He had shoulder-length brown hair and bright brown eyes. He wore a white gown with a messenger bag slung across his shoulder. A magnificent pair of pure white wings graced his back._

_She let out a sigh of relief. "Gabriel." she said. "I thought you were someone else."_

_The messenger chuckled. "Really?" he asked, "Who?"_

_An image of the strange, red-eyed demon fleeted her mind. She shook her head to clear it_

"_Never you mind." she snapped, "Do you sneak up on everyone like that?"_

_Gabriel smirked. "I wasn't trying to sneak up on you, That's Azrael's thing," he said. "And speaking of Azrael, he wishes to talk with you."_

_She turned her full attention to the angel. "Is that the only reason you're here?"_

_"Yes."_

_She closed her eyes for a moment and nodded. __"It isn't like him to request a formal sitting with me. He just pops in whenever he wants to talk to me..."_

_Gabriel tilted his head slightly. __"I believe he requested this because he knew you couldn't reject his invite. He seemed pretty upset."_

_"But still," she said lowly, "I'm his sister!"_

_"I don't think that matters right now, Leila," the messenger said. "You need to see him as soon as possible, before he gets anymore upset than he already is."_

_Leila blinked up at him._

_"Yes," she said. "Yes of course. I'll go right now!"_

_The dark angel stood, her signature pair of deadly black wings sprouting from her back._

_"Thank you, Gabriel."_

_She spread her wings. The messenger bowed._

_"It's my job," he said, "you don't have thank me."_

_She smiled and gave him a slight nod, before taking to the sky and vanishing in the darkness._

* * *

"Wrap that up when your done with him, Ciel."

"Okay."

"And be very careful using that hand. You shouldn't be losing anymore blood than you already are."

Leila knelt over Sebastian, dabbing at his injuries with a wet piece of cloth. She carefully watched Ciel as he pulled his wrist away from Sebastian (for what felt like the hundredth time) and began to tie the strip of cloth that once covered his eye around his wrist.

"No need to nag." he muttered.

She didn't seem to hear him.

"Are you sure your eye's okay?" she asked

The boy let out an annoyed sigh. "_Yes_. It doesn't hurt as long as I keep it shut."

The fallen angel hummed in acknowledgement, but said nothing more.

"Sebastian better be grateful for all of this." he said in a low voice, more to himself than anyone else.

Leila looked up at him. "Chances are he won't remember any of this, so don't hold your breath."

Ciel said nothing, so Leila decided to go on.

"But there's good news. He won't be needing anymore of your blood from now on."

The hopeful statement caught the boy's attention, and he snapped his head up.

"How can you tell?" he asked.

Leila rested a hand over his heart.

"His aura," she said, "It's weak, but still much stronger than it was yesterday."

She paused to move her hand up to his forehead.

"He's fighting off Seraphim's effects surprisingly well."

Ciel blinked. "Will he wake up soon?"

She stiffened.

"Yes," she said slowly, "But for the sake of your safety I don't want you near him when that happens."

Her sudden change in behavior did not go unnoticed by Ciel.

"What? Why?"

She hesitated. Ciel was quickly growing impatient with her.

"Tell me!" He ordered.

She stood up suddenly to tower over the boy, the rag clenched in her hands was dripping with Sebastian's blood.

"I don't know!" she burst out. "I just have this feeling. Like it's not going to be pretty. I just know! Trust me, okay?"

He instinctively flinched. Her outburst had shocked him.

"Alright," he murmured, "Where do you want me to go?"

Leila almost felt sorry for scaring the boy. "Not far," she promised, "Just make sure you're out of his sight." she suddenly remembered her daughter. "Make sure you take Akuma with you."

Ciel pouted slightly. "This is stupid."

"I don't care," Leila said, "You won't need to leave for a few hours, so get something to eat in the meantime."

Ciel stood, and even though Leila was a good two heads taller than him, he still looked her dead in the eye.

"I'm tired of you telling me what to do." he hissed.

"No one ever said you had to listen to me," she spat back, "And if I recall correctly, I've had save your ass like four times this pass week. You would be smart to listen to me."

Ciel nearly slapped her, but managed to control himself.

"Really?" he said. "Because you could have just as easily saved Sebastian!"

Leila's eyes narrowed, but she decided it was best to back off.

"Fine," she said, "Do what you want."

Ciel's stomach suddenly growled.

"But you should still get something to eat." Leila chided.

"No," he said, "I'm tired."

Leila looked at him as if he was stupid.

"Then go to sleep," she said shortly, "And when you wake up you can go get some food."

"Whatever"

He walked over and sat down next to Akuma. He leaned back against the wall within minutes he was snoring.

* * *

_The dark angel folded her wings against her back and bowed down before a tall, hooded figure._

_"You wished to speak with me, Azrael?"_

_After a long silence, the figure replied._

_"Yes," he said in a cold voice. "Let's make this quick, shall we?"_

_Leila was confused. Her brother was typically kind to her. She was one of the few people that he favored._

_"That sounds good, brother" she said._

_"Alright," he said. "Leila, what are you?"_

_"An angel." she replied after a short pause._

_"What kind of angel?" he asked._

_"An archangel."_

_"An Arcangel of the night" he corrected._

_"Right," she said._

_"Now tell me, Leila, do archangels kill demons?"_

_Her eyes widened. How did he know?_

_"Yes."_

_"Are we supposed to show them mercy?"_

_"No."_

_"Do they even deserve our mercy? Do they deserve God's grace?"_

_"No"_

_"What are they?"_

_"They are evil. Abominations. A population of pests that must be controlled."_

_All her answers were automatic. robotic, in a way._

_"Good" Azrael said. "Now answer me this question: Why did you allow that demonling to live?"_

_"I don't know" she said._

_The death angel sighed._

_"I think you now, sister, I thought you said we would make this quick."_

_Leila looked at the ground._

_"He didn't act like a demon. __He didn't smell like a demon __He spent the whole battle hiding in a tree. He tried to run when I confronted him. I didn't see him as a demon. I guess one would say that I pitied him." _

_Azrael watched her in silence for a long while after she finished speaking._

_"Look at me." he said._

_Her guilty eyes flickered up to meet his. _

_"I don't care what he acted or smelled like. He's still a demon. He does not deserve pity. We do not spare demons. We kill them. They are not our friends. Am I clear?"_

_She nodded. "Crystal clear."_

_"Good," he said. "If this happens again, I'm afraid there will have to be consequences."_

_She stood. "I'm sorry."_

_Azrael pulled his hood back, revealing long white hair and dark eyes. _

_"There is no need to apologize." he said, "Just don't let it happen again."_

_"Okay," she said pathetically._

_He flashed a rare, small smile._

_"I need to go," he said, "I have a gathering with the reapers to attend."_

* * *

**_Aww, I think Ciel is having his man-period. The two of them were getting along a bit to well to be realistic. Ciel doesn't like being bossed around, even if its by the person who 'saved his ass' like four times. God, I love that line._**

**_So yeah. Leila made a no-no by letting Raum live. Bet no one saw that coming -sarcasm- So what will happen when they meet again? A action-packed fight to the death? Nah. A heartfelt secret love confession? Wait what? FUCK NO! like seriously, of you actually thought that was gonna happen, you need to GTFO lke right now.  
like, seriously._**

**_'The Wanderer'  
The one-shot you requested was juuust about finished, but my laptop had to be an asshole and die. The story was saved on the laptop, so for now the story is dead untitled one-shot had a very special place in my heart. Why? Because you see, most of the kuro fanfictions (and most fanfictions in general) that involve self-harm tend to be horribly inaccurate and actually a little insulting. I have lost a very close friend to suicide, and I have struggled with depression myself. It isn't a subject that should be trivialized the way it is by most people who write these kinds of fics. I can only hope that my fic did it Justice._**

**_Well now with the depressing rant out of the way, I must say good bye._**

_**Until we meet again,**_

_**READ MY OTHER SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**VOTE IN MY SHITTY POLLS**_

_**ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS SHITTY STORY!**_

_**REQUEST YOUR OWN SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**Ciel will now make Sebastian kill a cat for your entertainment...**_

_**BYE! ^_^**_


	16. His Butler, Dreaming

**_HI GUYS!_**

**_I don't have a lot of time here, so these A/N's are going to be relatively short._**

**_Questions from last chapter:_**

**_Arisa,  
_****_As I'm sure you know, I kinda just stole the chant from the second season of kuroshitsuji. In all reality, 'hoheo taralna, rondero tarel' is just a bunch of gibberish the creators made up that sounds like latin. It's meaningless. Sorry to disappoint you. :(_**

**_So yeah, this chapter is pretty much a long-ass, confusing dream sequence. I don't know why i decided to do a dream sequence. I usually hate those. Meh, this chapter is shitty anyways._**

**_This chapter was written while listening to Crown the Empire's album, The Fallout, and Falling in the Black by Skillet._**

* * *

_He felt warm. Comfortable. It was a peaceful feeling, almost as if he were weightless._

_He opened his eyes, feeling as if he had just woken from a long slumber, and sat up to take in his surroundings, rubbing his head in slight confusion._

_'_Where am I?' _the hazy thought formed in his mind._

_He was surrounded in what appeared to be a thick mist. He could hardly see his own hand in front of his face, though he could make out pinpoints of light that could have been stars in the sky above him. He could hear a faint breeze, and something that sounded like tiny ripples of water. His hand brushed against something soft, and he looked down to see he was laying on a patch of smooth grass. He also became aware of what he was wearing. He was cloaked in dirtied brown cloth, tattered and torn in many places. The sleeves were short, as were the legs on his trousers. He wore no shoes._

'What is this place?' _His thoughts went on. '_How did I get here?'

_Cautiously, since he could barely see a thing, he crawled forward on his hands and knees. He stopped when his hand landed in a puddle of cool water. He looked down, and noticed that he had come to the edge of a lake. The water his hand had touched was like shattered black glass, Like something that was once so smooth and still, until he had touched it, and it rippled and distorted under his fingers. The waves spread across the surface of the glassy lake, and he felt a pang of guilt for disturbing something so peaceful._

_The water eventually stilled, and just like that, the black glass was whole again; Eerily smooth, unnaturally still, Almost as if it had been frozen in time. The glassy surface was like a mirror, and like a curious child, he bent down and gazed into the water._

_The face that gazed back at him was no older than ten. Inky, messy black hair framed his face, and a pair of intelligent, red-brown eyes innocently observed him. He blinked, and his reflection did the same. He tilted his head, and the face in the water followed suit._

_"Raum..." a faint voice called._

_He snapped out of his daze at the sound of that achingly familiar voice, and he felt a sudden surge of longing._

_"Raum..." the voice called out again, this time a bit stronger._

_He turned his head to the sound and stood, surprised at the way the mist was dissipating. He could see a shadow resembling the shape of a woman walking towards him from the heart of the fog._

_"Raum," the voice said in a breath of relief._

_A kind-faced blond woman with bright eyes holding a small girl's hand strided out the mist into the full view of the boy. His heart stopped, so many thoughts raced through his mind in the span of a second, and his mouth formed the almost foreign word on its own accord._

_"M-mama?"_

_The woman nodded, and dropped the girl's hand to outstretch her own arms to the boy._

_Without a second thought, he ran and leaped into her waiting arms. The warmth of the loving embrace made him want to cry and laugh and jump and shout for joy all at the same time. He felt like he was _home,_ if such a word even existed for him. He pulled away to look at her face, taking in every detail, as if fearing that he would forget them. She looked back at him with a tender, loving expression. She softly touched his face, and brushed some of his messy hair behind his ear._

_She paused._

_And just like that, her stare on him hardened, cold hatred talking the place of any emotion found there earlier. He noticed the change, and it frightened him._

_"Mama?"_

_She suddenly flung him from her arms, and he landed harshly on his back at her feet. His frightened eyes flicked up to her pitiless orbs, and suddenly, just like that, she was gone. Blown away into the mist. Nothing more than an apparition._

_Heart pounding, he unsteadily dragged himself to his feet. He looked around for the the girl, which he recognized as his little sister, but she seemed to have vanished along with their mother. Perhaps she was never there at all. _

_Shaking himself slightly, h__e called for his sister in a hoarse voice._

_No reply._

_He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted for his mother._

_Nothing._

_Distraught, he began to wander aimlessly. He called for his mother and sister over and over, each time with less conviction._

_Eventually, he found himself back at the lake. He tripped and landed face first in the cool water. Coughing and spluttering, the boy pulled himself up and sat back on his heels. He wiped the water from his stinging eyes, and watched the water settle down as the waves diminished. He craned his neck to look at his reflection._

_His reflection looked older than before, probably about in his late teens. The bones in his cheek stuck out sharply, all signs of childhood roundness gone. All the joy and innocence had left his eyes, which were surrounded by rings as dark as his inky hair._

_He heard a soft growl from behind him and turned around. He came face to face with a pair of glowing red eyes that seemed to gaze into his soul. The youth gulped and nearly fell back into the water. A gigantic black dog loomed over him, bristling slightly with a deep growl rumbling in its throat. The beast breathed warm air onto his face, then turned and ran away._

_It wasn't until the thing was out of sight did the youth realize he had been holding his breath. He let out a deep sigh and fell onto his back in the grass. He closed his eyes, willing himself to stop trembling._

* * *

_His felt a strange warmth on his cheek. Was someone touching him?_

_"Raum," a soft voice whispered. _

_He opened his eyes to find the deep green eyes of an auburn haired woman hovering over him. He knew who she was right away, but he found it difficult to believe she was actually there._

_He swallowed. "Azalea?"_

_She smiled and brushed the bangs out of his face._

_"Hey," she whispered. "I missed you."_

_He fought the urge to return her smile._

_"What are you doing here?" He asked seriously._

_Her smile faded slightly, but she leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his closed lips. The contact was short, and too soon she pulled away._

_"I'm here because I love you, remember?" she said._

_He smiled slightly, reached his hand out to touch her cheek. She caught it, and linked their fingers together._

_"Here," she said, "let me help you up."_

_Something caught his eye, and he glanced over her shoulder to see the pair of red eyes from before._

_"Azalea..." he began in a low voice._

_His tone more than anything caught her attention. "Hmm? Is something wrong?"_

_He heard a menacing growl, and began to make out the shadow of the beast as it approached. Terror rendered him speechless._

_His behavior was beginning to worry her, and she shook his shoulder to get his attention. "Raum! Talk to me!"_

_He snapped out his daze and leaped up, grabbing her hand and sprinting in the opposite direction. He heard the woman behind him let out a surprised gasp._

_"Wh-what are you doing!?" she hissed._

_"Run," he breathed. "Trust me."_

_He looked over his shoulder and saw that the beast was giving chase and gaining on them. He could tell by the look on her face and by the way she was now running that she had seen it as well._

_"What is that thing!?" he heard her say._

_Before he could answer, he tripped, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Their hands separated._

_For a moment, everything stopped._

_Then he heard the beast roar..._

_And he heard her scream._

_"Stop it!" he screamed, "Get away from her!"_

_He scrambled to his feet and rushed to the beast, but stopped when he saw the woman's limp, bloodied body at its feet._

_"A-Azalea?"_

_He could feel himself shutting down. He could feel the wetness on his cheeks as tears dripped down his face._

_But more than anything, he could feel anger and hatred welling up inside him._

_His eyes met the beast's. The thing was licking the blood off its maul while slowly prowling towards him. Out of either bravery or insanity, he stood his ground._

_"You killed her," he murmured while looking down, "I loved her, and you killed her." _

_His fists clenched and unclenched on their own._

_He heard a low, chortling sound and looked up. The beast had stopped a few feet in front of him and stared down at him with a look of amusement dancing in its evil eyes._

_Finally, he snapped. With a roar of rage, he sent himself flying at the beast. Before he could even touch the thing however, the beast swatted him away with a giant paw, sending him crashing to the ground with the crack of bones._

_He gasped at the sudden pain in his chest, and instinctively curled himself into a ball._

_Seeing the chance, the beast jumped. Its mouth closed down on his legs, he could feel them shatter under the pressure, and he cried out. He felt a hot liquid running down his legs, and he began to struggle in the beast's grip._

_"Get off!" he yelled. "Let me go!"_

_He felt the earth moving underneath him, and realized that the beast was dragging him across the ground. He turned around, and saw that the beast was nearing the edge of the lake. Desperately, he tried to dig his fingers into the soil in order to get away, but it was only a fruitless effort. In a complete panic, he started raining punches and blows on the animal's snout. The beast let out an annoyed huff and clenched its jaw tighter together._

_An excruciating pain raced through his entire body like a jolt of electricity. It was the worst thing he had ever felt, almost as if his whole being was being consumed by the pain. His vision began to blur, and he vomited. He stopped struggling, and only weakly clawed at the grass. Eventually, shock took ever, easing the pain and bathing him in numbness._

_He heard a splash from behind, and noticed that the beast's lower half was submerged in the water. _

_He had enough._

_'_Just let it end...' _He thought, '_Make it stop..."

_He closed his eyes, feeling himself sink into the water. He went limp, and let himself drift._

* * *

Leila bit her lip as she watched the demon before her struggle. He was trembling. He was whimpering and writhing.

She had never felt so hopeless.

Ciel was long gone. He had woken a little less than an hour ago, and set off in search of food without a word to the fallen.

Sebastian cried out again, and she thought to felt her heart break.

Not knowing what else to do, she scooted a bit closer to him and knelt. Gently she pulled his head into her lap, brushing his hair and whispering words of comfort to him. His skin was burning to the touch, yet it was coated in sweat.

"No..." he moaned.

She felt a familiar sting in her eyes, and smiled slightly, recalling a time when Sebastian had teased her by saying that she cried too much.

"Let me go..." he said in a broken whisper. "Please..." his voice broke on the last word.

She couldn't help it. She let the tears fall.

"Make it stop..." he whimpered.

She watched the tears drip onto his cheeks. _He's right..._ She thought,_ I do cry to much._

Gently, she brushed the tears away and softly kissed his eyelids, an old gesture meant to drive away bad dreams.

Wishing she could do more to help, she sighed, and began to hum a familiar, relaxed tune.

* * *

_He heard a soft, musical voice. It sounded a bit like humming. He thought it sounded nice, and he found himself struggling to open his eyes. He heard the voice abruptly cut off. A moment later, it spoke again in a soft, hesitant voice._

_"Sebastian?"_

_The voice was concerned, and very, very familiar. He finally managed to pry his eyes open. Hovering mere inches from his face were a large pair of blue-gray eyes set in a pale face surrounded by wavy black hair. She grinned._

_"You have no idea how much I've missed seeing your eyes." She said with a relieved sigh._

_She was kneeling on the ground with Sebastian in her arms, his head resting gently against her shoulder. A huge pair of glimmering black wings sprouted from her back. They were wrapped around her and the person in her arms. _

_He felt a slight breeze, which caused him to look down. He realized he was shirtless. Not only that, but there were also countless scores of bloody slashes and deep cuts scattered across the bare skin. _

_He jumped up, pulling himself away from the woman's grasp._

_"What the hell is going on?" he hissed._

_The woman pulled herself to her feet with a worried expression._

_"Please calm down." She whispered._

_He blinked at her, and then suddenly a wave a dizziness rolled over him. He began to sway._

_"Sebastian, lie down." she ordered, "You're hurt."_

_He began to fall, and she barely managed to catch him before he hit the ground. She sat him up, and turned him so that he was facing the water._

_"Look at yourself," she told him firmly, "You look like you're about to drop dead!"_

_For the third time, he bent his neck and gazed at the water. _

_He had always been a bit pale, but now any color that was in his skin was gone. The dark circles around his eyes seemed to have vanished as well. His eyes, once a warm shade of brown, were now a eerie blood red. They glowed slightly, and he realized with a chill that they were an exact replica of the beast's eyes._

_A feeling of nausea began to well up in him, and he found himself leaning against the woman for support. She put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer to her._

_"You need to wake up." she said suddenly._

_Confused, he turned to her, "What?"_

_Suddenly, she vanished. _

_"Leila?" He called nervously._

_He heard a soft whisper from behind. He turned around, and saw her standing behind him. She was heavily discolored. Her shape was distorted, and she rippled and flickered. She looked afraid, and reached her hand out to him. He saw her lips moving, she looked as if she was screaming. but it sounded distant and muffled, as if it was being carried away by wind._

_He dragged himself upright, and reached for her hand. His fingers passed right through her, and they felt cold where they touched her._

_Her eyes went wide, and he noticed tear tracks running down her cheeks. She flickered black for a second, then faded away altogether._

_"No!" he screamed._

_He felt himself being pulled back. It was like he was falling. The scene around him changed. He was down into a deep, dry well. Maybe it was a tunnel of sorts. There was a large circle of light at one end. As he fell, the circle grew smaller and smaller. He reached out desperately for it, fearful of what was waiting for him when he reached the other end. His efforts were in vain, for he only continued to fall faster and faster. Eventually, the circle of light was nothing more than a pinpoint, like a lone star in a pitch black night. Then, just like that, the light was gone._

_ He heard her whisper._

"Wake up,"

_He continued to fall, and as he fell, he began to feel pain. It started off as a bearable, if not annoying pain emanating from the cuts and bruises raked across his chest. But soon, it became agonizing. He felt himself writhing and yelling out, pleading for release._

_He slammed down at the end of the tunnel, but even the pain of the impact paled in comparison to the pain he was already feeling._

_As he lay there, struggling to breathe, he heard it again. He heard her voice. Calling. Pleading._

_"_Sebastian..._"_

_He realized his eyes were closed._

* * *

"Wake up," Leila pleaded. She shook his shoulder slightly.

The demon had become very animated, thrashing and flailing about, screaming and calling and crying. She found the sight very disturbing.

How would she know about the things that haunted a demon's nightmares? They rarely ever slept at all!

She had seen him sleep only one other time before. At that time, his sleep was dreamless, almost peaceful.

The demon in front of her now was an entirely different being. It was almost as if he was _trapped._ He never responded to her attempts at comfort.

Just then, he let out a particularly loud, agonized scream that scared the birds from the trees outside.

He fell silent, and his body stilled. She reached out for him, gently touching his face.

"Sebastian?"

His eyelids snapped open, revealing glowing, slitted red orbs. He looked disoriented. His eyes fixated on her, and narrowed slightly.

He released a hostile growl.

* * *

_**Oooooh, cliffie :D Can you feel the drama?**_

_**This chapter was a real bitch to write. Like seriously, I hate my life.**_

_**New word count record: 3,000 words. Woot!**_

_**I have a new laptop on the way. It should come in some time in May. **_

_**Oh guys, did you see the trailer for Catching Fire yet? Holy tits its fucking amazing. I think I might need to do a hunger games oneshot to celebrate. **_

_**Anyways, I gotta go cuz I'm about to get kicked outta the library.**_

_**Until next time,**_

_**READ MY OTHER SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**VOTE IN MY SHITTY POLLS**_

_**ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS SHITTY STORY!**_

_**REQUEST YOUR OWN SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**Sebastian and Ciel will now read M-rated Sebaciel yaoi for your entertainment...**_

_**By the way guys, Sebastian killed the cat._.**_

_**BYE! ^_^**_


	17. His Butler, Blood

_**Fuck you guys.**_

_**Why? Because I feel like being an asshole today... Deal with it. (YOLO)**_

_**No Questions from last chapter, which is good because I probably wouldn't have answered them anyway.**_

_**So yeah...**_

_"I've come for  
Blood blood blood  
And I'm not leaving till I  
Have your heart  
You're going to pay for all that you have  
Done done done  
I'll feel alive when I have  
Blood, your blood,  
**Blood, YOUR BLOOD**  
__Because revenge is all I haven't lost"_

* * *

She had heard that growl before. She knew what it meant. The menacing sound that ripped from his throat promised death.

She hesitated, trying to think of a way to calm him down. She couldn't think of any. When a demon wanted to kill, they killed. If she had learned anything in her millenia of being the Night's Archangel, it was that a demon would not stop _until_ it was killed. Yet would she really be able to kill Sebastian if it came down to it?

She heard a scratching sound on the floor. The demon was trying to drag himself towards her.

She had her answer.

Instinctively, she leaped up, backing away from the enraged demon while turning to take her daughter so they could flee together. Her eyes moved across the wall to where she knew the girl was resting.

Her heart stopped, and her breath caught in her throat.

The spot where Akuma had once slept so soundly was empty.

Her daughter was gone.

Terror held her in place. For a moment she forgot everything happening around her. Her mind was reeling. She didn't notice the demon behind her struggling to his feet. She didn't see his furious red eyes fixated on her in a deadly glare. Or how the nails on his left hand were extending rapidly into cruel talons that glistened with venom all demons had, and how his mouth was open in that horrible growl that exposed his curved fangs.

Instead, Leila remained still, trying to will movement back into he limbs.

The demon leaped. She didn't have time to react.

She felt claws viciously tearing deep into her left shoulder, ripping flesh and tearing bone the same way her wings once had, dragging her to the ground with a pained shout. She could feel her blood pouring down her back, and she closed her eyes tightly, ignoring the tears flowing from them.

_"I don't want to fight you," he said in a low voice._

_He was on a hill overlooking a village. His back was turned to her. She wasn't sure how he was able to pick up on her presence; she was typically so silent._

_"I know how powerful you are." he went on. "There isn't an angel or demon who doesn't know your name, Leila."_

_She blinked. Carefully, she folded her wings behind her back._

_"Furthermore," he continued, "I know why you're here."_

_He finally turned, looking at her with a small smirk forming on his lips._

She opened her eyes. He was hovering over her, that same sinister smirk plastered on his face. She felt a surge of rage wash over her, and with it came a burst of new strength.

And suddenly, that _thing_ hovering over her wasn't the one she loved. In that moment he was nothing more than a demon. Evil. An abomination.

He was _worthless._

She got her feet underneath him, and swiftly delivered a strong kick. He flew back and slammed against the rock wall with such a force the ground shook. A few small fissures formed in the wall. He fell to the ground with a harsh thud

She deftly leaped to her feet. Her damaged wings sprouting from her back and spreading out behind her. She noticed it was rapidly growing difficult to make use of her left arm, but it was only a minor setback at the moment. She tensed, watching silently while the demon manged to pull himself to his feet. She dug her heels into the ground, prepared to counter any attack he had. Sebastian stood on unsteady feet and spat something dark red on the ground near Leila's feet.

He looked up and their eyes met. She was able to read every emotion that swam underneath his gaze. Rage, confusion, hatred. All of it was directed at her, but what stood out the most was the burning pain that light his eyes aflame.

_What was happening to him?_

The contact was brief, because just then, he vanished.

She blinked in surprise. She had seen him do something like this before, but she hadn't expected it was even possible for him to do it now, not when he was so weak. He hadn't literally vanished, of course. He was simply moving very, very fast. She perked her senses, trying to pick up on his aura patterns. What she felt confused her. It seemed as if he was surrounding her, but at the same time it felt as if he wasn't there at all. Everywhere and nowhere together. The feeling made her dizzy, so much so that the world began to spin around her. There was no way she could have prevented the crippling blow that was delivered to her chest.

Her vision went dark for a moment. She could feel herself flying backwards, and the shattering pain that came when she hit something, and then a terrifying feeling of not being able to breathe.

_"You have orders to kill me, correct?" He wasn't asking a question, he was making a statement._

_She looked at the ground. "Not directly..." she murmured._

_He clicked his tongue. "Is that hesitation I hear?"_

_She looked up and jumped when she saw his eyes mere inches away from hers. Why was she so scared? __He seemed to be able to pick up on her emotions._

_ "Or is it perhaps fear?" he whispered._

_There was something in the way he said it, maybe the teasing tone implying he thought her weak, which infuriated her. Without so much as a warning, she spread her wings and shot off a mass of feathers. She heard his pained gasp, which confirmed that she had struck her target. She saw him backing away, pulling a number of feathers from his arm, hissing at the blood he saw spilling from it. His slitted eyes locked on to hers, his gaze glowing and deadly. He let out a hoarse growl and charged so quickly he seemed to have vanished. The next thing she knew, she was knocked on the ground, struggling to breathe._

Her eyes darted all around, trying to see where he was. She heard a noise from above her and rolled aside not a moment too soon. There was a huge crash and she looked over to where she just was.

Sebastian was crouching in a small crater that he apparently just formed. His gaze was locked on her, never moving, enraged by the fact that he had missed his target. She swallowed when she noticed the pulsating black and green waves rolling off of him, a sign that his aura was dangerously powerful. She tried to stand, to move, to do anything, but her limbs ignored her commands. She was frozen, no doubt by his doing.

_How!?_ She thought, _His seal is gone! He shouldn't even be able to control that much energy!_

He stood slowly, seeming to relish the way she was completely at his mercy. He approached her with an air of arrogance, stopping mere feet from her to tower of her with that cruel, sadistic smile making its way back onto his face.

Perhaps he decided he wanted more of a challenge, or maybe it was by sheer force of will, but she finally seemed to regain control over herself. She quickly rolled aside, barely evading the harsh kick he sent her. Skilfully jumping to her feet, she managed to to seemingly fly over his outstretched claws and land safely behind him. Instinctively, she tensed the muscles in her wings, only to be reminded that her feathers were practically useless in her current situation. Instead, she wrapped them around her body at the last second to protect herself from the black claws tearing down on her. She felt them tear into her wing, in the same spot Azrael's blade had ripped into her. She bit her lip to the point of drawing blood, and couldn't help crying out when she felt him violently jerk his hand to the side, tearing through skin and bone, leaving nothing of the wing except for a mangled limb.

She felt weak, nauseous. her eyes were shut tightly, she could feel her knees beginning to give out under her.

_Drip... Drip..._

The gentle pitter-patter continued in a slow, steady rhythm. The pain was excruciating. She hadn't felt such agony in years, not since she had fallen.

When Lillium had ripped her wing with Seraphim, she had managed to keep the energy the blade released contained into one area: her wing. But when Sebastian had damaged her wing beyond repair with his venom-coated claws, that energy was released. That alone would have been enough to kill her, but add that a demon's venom flowed through her veins? After all, a death by Azrael's blade was something reserved only for those who _deserved_ the most painful death in existence, and a demon's venom only served the purpose of inducing absolute terror, anxiety, and the feeling of being burned alive. The combination was enough to bring even the most powerful beings down.

And down she fell

She slowly, sunk to her knees, and continued to descend until she her face touched something warm and sticky. She opened her eyes slightly, and for a moment saw nothing but red. She realized she was laying in a pool of blood, and that the rhythmatic dripping sound was coming from the blood flowing from her ruined wing.

She turned her head slightly to look up at Sebastian. He was leering over her with a victorious grin creeping onto his face.

For a moment, she thought he seemed to look sorry. Perhaps it was her imagination.

Then again, she could have sworn she heard a young boy's voice calling.

She didn't know what to make of it. She didn't get the chance too.

Because everything was fading away into nothing.

* * *

_**I hate my life. I hate my Life. I hate my life. I hate my life.**_

_**This has seriously been the worst week of my life. I know, I've said that like a million times, but I'm being legit here.**_

_**I nearly killed myself while writing this chapter. I've been seriously lacking inspiration for a while, so I had to guilt myself into getting off my lazy ass to write this bitch.**_

_**I'm not gonna say it sucks though, cause honestly, I don't even care anymore**_

_**I wasted a lot of time trying to get myself inspired, but what I was really doing was procrastinating.**_

_**I've listened to every song I know off the top of my head. No inspiration**_

_**I've spent hours on deviantart looking at random pictures. (Not a good idea if you have ADD) That did the opposite of inspire me. It went something like this:**_

_**"Alright! I'm gonna look at a bunch of pics related to my story to get in a writing mood... Aww, a kitty!"**_

_**It sorta went downhill from there.**_

_**Next, I tried reading other fanfics to find inspiration. I started hating on myself because I realized I can't write for shit compared to some people on here.**_

_**Moving on, I went to some old forums and chat rooms and got myself involved in an RP. I don't even know how that's supposed to inspire me. (It was mainly just some random crap that didn't even have anything to do with kuroshitsuji.**_

_**Lastly, in vain hope, I went to creepypasta. Why you ask? Because for some reason, my fucked up little mind loves reading and watching horror. I draw a big chunk of inspiration from there, but this time, the only thing it inspired me to do was stop playing pokemon and sleep with the lights on. (Lost Silver, Creepy Black, Lavender Town Syndrome... ugh)**_

_**So yeah, if you notice an obvious air of shittiness in this chapter, that's why. I put 0 effort into writing it this time.**_


	18. His Master, Betrayed

**_"Falling in the black,  
Slipping through the cracks,  
Falling to the depths can I ever go back?  
Dreaming of the way it used to be  
Can you hear me?  
Falling in the black  
Slipping through the cracks  
Falling to the depths can I ever go back?  
Falling inside the black"_**

* * *

A young teenage girl sat in front of a window. Her head rested on her desk with her fingers tapping a rhythmless beat on wood nervously. She had tired green eyes that darted to the telephone beside her every so often, seemingly hoping it would ring.

Her position unchanged, the girl sat there for what felt like hours on end, gazing out the window with a faraway look in her eyes. When the sky finally began to darken, there was a soft knock at the door. She turned her head a bit at the sound, causing her curly blonde hair to ripple down her shoulder.

"Come in," she said softly.

The person behind the door seemed to hesitate a bit, but the door opened after a short pause. A young woman with dark brown eyes and long mousy hair stepped inside. Her eyes searched the room, and her grip on the small bells she held in her hand tightened. Before she could ring them in an attempt to cheer the girl, the blonde's voice cut in.

"Put those ugly bells away, Paula. I'm not in the mood."

The maid's hands dropped to her side. Her eyes found the floor as she spoke in a falsely cheerful voice.

"Dinner is ready, my Lady. Your parents would like to see you at the table tonight."

The girl was silent for a moment.

"Tell them I'm not hungry." she sighed.

Paula tapped her foot on the floor.

"That's the same thing you've been telling them for three days. You need to eat, my Lady!"

The girl did not reply, so the maid walked up beside her. She carefully set her bells on the desk and rested her hands on her mistress's shoulders. She stood there for a moment, completely silent. She looked down at the girl, at the sad frown that appeared so out of place on her normally cheerful face. Paula took in her unwashed appearance. Her dirty hair was out of it's usual pigtails and just sat on top of her head in an unbrushed mess. The bright colorful dresses she usually donned had been replaced by a darker outfit of a simple blouse and skirt. She was beginning to grow thin, and the gray lines under her eyes contrasted harshly with her pale skin. The maid bent down and whispered in the girl's ear.

"My Lady, acting like this will not bring your fiancé back home." she told her gently, "He's went missing for a month before. I'm sure he'll come back safe and sound soon."

The girl continued to sit as if she hadn't heard her maid.

"You haven't slept or ate in nearly a week." she continued, "Ciel certainly wouldn't like to see you like this, would he?"

Again, no reply. The maid decided it would be best to leave her alone, so she simply added one more thing before she left.

"If anyone finds him, you'll be the first to know."

The maid dropped her hands and left, and the girl turned her eyes to gaze out the window once more.

* * *

The demon stood over the angel, watching with a satisfied smile as the life flowed out of her in crimson waves. He tilted his head slightly, examining her the way a carpenter would study a block of wood before carving it. For some odd reason, he felt a small pang of regret stir within him. The emotion felt almost foreign, and it was quickly pushed aside. He descended to kneel down on one knee and he brushed her cheek with his thumb. It could have been a loving gesture of sorts, if it wasn't for the sadistic grin stretching across his face. His hand moved to her neck. The fingers stretched open then closed around her. Blood began to bead up from where his claws broke her skin. It would be so easy just to kill her now. All it would take is a crush of hand or a fling of the wrist. He wasn't sure why he was being so hesitant.

There wasn't much he could remember. He didn't know of his name or his age, and while he had the feeling he had been asleep for a while, that was about it.

He _did _remember the terror he felt. He had woken feeling frenzied with fear. His eyes had opened, and he saw her. He saw her and instantly hated her. He hated her and wanted nothing more than to kill her. He had the chance to kill her now. Why wasn't he using it?

He didn't know exactly _why_ he wanted to kill her. It wasn't even a personal thing. Maybe it was the strange energy she seemed to give off. He just hated _her._ Whatever _she_ was. Some deeply driven code within him declared that _her_ continued existence wasn't something _he_ could not allow.

He remembered the sudden pain that washed over him, drowning out the fear and giving rise to rage. The all-powerful instinct inside him told him that s_he_ had caused this, that _she_ was the only one to blame. Whatever had happened to him had happened because of _her_. _She _had to _die._ The booming voice in his head decreed so.

With this logic instilled in his mind, all hesitation vanished. His hand tightened, and he stood, dragging the limp body up with him. He held his arm out at full length above him so that her feet dangled over the ground. The heat of the moment had begun to ebb away, and the pain he had managed to ignore was screaming for his attention.

He jumped when he heard a yell from behind. It was a child's voice. A boy's. He sounded angry.

"_Sebastian!_"

The startled demon dropped the unresponsive angel in surprise. He whirled around to find the voice's source.

What he saw almost made him burst out laughing. Standing there, at the bottom of the hill, was the most pathetic-looking human he had ever seen. He was just a child. Small and thin. He was covered in scratches, his clothes and hair were ragged and he had a dirty rag tied over his right eye. His face was contorted with shock and fear, but his fists were clenched at his sides in rage.

The demon looked the boy up and down. His mind was racing with things he could do to him. After all, the child would have to pay for interrupting him. Perhaps he could just kill him outright. It would be quicker after all, but where was the fun of that? Or maybe he could just tear him apart slowly, make him plea for mercy, but the demon would only laugh and watch the life leave his eyes. He was sure the boy's drawn-out screams would be rather enjoyable, and he purred a bit at the thought.

He crouched slightly, preparing to attack him like a lion would its prey, but then the boy did something that utterly shocked him. The child ripped a the rag away from his face, stood tall and shouted at him.

"Sebastian! I order you to stop this immediately!" he shrieked.

The demon blinked. Did this worthless thing just attempt to command him? Sebastian... the boy had called him Sebastian. Was that his name? He couldn't remember. Did he even have a name? It frustrated him to no end.

He glared at the boy, but his lip twitched in a slight smile. It was very amusing indeed, the way the foolish child challenged him. He had to commend him for his bravery though. Such courage was an admirable quality. The boy must have had a fine soul. Maybe, just maybe, he could contract him.

As if on cue, a slight breeze blew from the bottom of the hill, wafting the boy's warm scent up to him. He froze, and an agonizing pang of hunger swept through him, along with a longing feeling. The soul, the energy, the very life force he gave of teemed with the perfect flavor, a dark purity of sorts that sent the demon into a starved frenzy. A burning thirst ripped through his throat, a flame that would only be quenched by the consumption of that boy's soul. He was still for a moment, having been stunned by the sudden onslaught of senses. He closed his eyes for a bit and let himself bathe in the scent. A moment later, when he was finally able to recompose himself, he tensed. Then he snapped.

He flew down the hill at such a speed the boy hadn't even a moment to brace himself. All he could do was blink before the weight of the demon rammed into him at full force. The child was knocked to the ground and his head slammed so hard stars swam in his vision. He couldn't breath, the demon's knee digging into his chest made it impossible. In one swift movement, the boy's arms were pulled from his side and pinned above his head by the demon's one working hand. The other arm hung rather uselessly at his side. He noticed the jagged stump of a wrist was still bleeding slightly.

The boy looked up to see his once-butler's eyes less than an inch from his own. He could see his own terror mirrored back at him from the glowing slits. Hunger and power and unbelievable want swam beneath the demon's cold gaze. The earl tried to turn his head away but found that he couldn't so much as move a muscle, no matter how hard he tried. He wondered if he was literally paralyzed with fear, or if this was something of Sebastian's doing.

There wasn't a chance to wonder much else. In the span of a second the demon had driven his teeth deep into the child's neck, and the boy had let out a scream louder than one would have thought was humanly possible. He felt pain he didn't even know he was capable of experiencing. The flames of the manor were like tickles, the agonizing hunger nothing more than a stomach ache. The cuts, the lacerations and stab wounds at the hands of his captors, even being branded with a hot iron was nothing in comparison. He would have lived it again, lived it a thousand times over, and he would have been grateful if it meant he could get away from the present pain he was feeling.

The boy screamed and cried and pleaded, all of which only served to entice the demon further. Blood rushed out the child's neck only to be selfishly swallowed by a starved demon. The boy squirmed helplessly, completely trapped under the demon's weight. He could actually feel himself growing weaker. He could feel the life leaving him, the memories, the emotions and feelings, all of it was fading. He could feel is very soul being dragged from the depths of his heart for the demon's consumption.

He was Ciel _who_?

His birthday was _when_?

He was where he was because of _what_?

In his fading consciousness, he struggled to hold what he had left closer to him, but even the simplest things were slipping.

That's when his veins began to feel icy. He had never known true terror until that moment. It was as if every bit of fear he felt over his thirteen years of life had been added together then multiplied by the thousands, only to be unleashed on him in a wave that literally paralyzed him with terror. He couldn't move, he couldn't blink, he could hardly even breathe as he was drowned in fear so potent is was actually painful. He didn't scream, the fright had ripped his voice from him. He couldn't even cry. He could only tremble.

He could feel the demon's lips smile into his neck when he had stopped moving. After all, it was the job of a demon's venom to completely incapacitate their victim, and what better way to do that than to strike them dead with terror? A common ideal with demons was that the soul was best eaten when the emotions were most intense. Fear was an intense emotion, was it not? Nothing set a human's heart pounding and mind racing the same way pure, undiluted terror did.

The demon could already feel the effects of the blood. His pain was growing slightly more bearable. He was feeling stronger. He could feel his wounds beginning to mend themselves. It was such a relief. Or so it was until he heard an enraged scream and a strong force flung him backwards.

He flew back a good distance, his back landed on the ground and skidded until he came to a complete stop. He simply lay there for a moment, too surprised to do anything else Then he began to pull himself up. He didn't make it very far however. Before he could even stand fully straight he was knocked back down again by what felt like the same force.

He growled and sprung up. His head whirled around trying to find the source of whatever kept hitting him. He looked behind him and saw a strange black wave of pulsing energy riding towards him. Instinct took over. His body acted on it's own accord and jumped up. His hands caught on to a tree branch and he hoisted himself up. He scrambled up the tree like a frightened squirrel. The wave passed harmlessly underneath him, though the tree did shake a bit when the pulse went through its trunk.

Making himself as flat as possible against a branch, his eyes scanned the foliage. He was going to find whatever had disturbed him and he was going to _kill it._

The trees rustled slightly as a slight breeze passed through them. In the clearing at the base of the hill where Ciel lay emerged a girl. She had messy, shoulder-length black hair that fell on her face. Her pale had faint scars in many places. What stood out most about her were her piercing blue eyes that glowed with a purple hue. She was completely enveloped in a black, intimidating energy. Hints of purple and blue aura swirled around in the dark energy. Her body was almost completely shadowed by it, making her eyes seem to glow even brighter than they actually were.

She confidently steppedinto the middle of the clearing, stopping an arm's length away from Ciel. She gazed at him for a moment, her face relatively expressionless. She nudged him slightly with her toe. He didn't respond, and she simply shrugged and continued walking, not caring when one of her bare feet splashed in the blood that had pooled from the injury on the boy's neck. She looked up into the branches of the tree in which the demon was hiding.

She saw him.

He saw her.

And suddenly, her aura whipped up around her, forming itself into shadowy tendrils that snaked through the air towards the demon. They wrapped around him and before he could resist they yanked him out of his hiding place and threw him at her feet, landing with a soft thud.

He looked up into her face and saw something disturbing. Her face was absolutely devoid of expression, but her eyes said it all. They seethed with an emotion he couldn't even describe. It was better to describe it as insanity than an actual emotion.

He rapidly pulled himself to his feet and backed away.

He felt threatened by it, by _her._ He realized a fight with this seemingly harmless girl was inevitable, but she probably wasn't as harmless as she looked. In fact, he was willing to bet she was brutally powerful, judging by the energy she gave off.

That was another thing: Her aura confused him. He couldn't tell what she was. She couldn't be human. Humans had an aura, but they weren't able to control and manipulate it at will like she was doing. She definitely couldn't be a reaper; they didn't even have an aura to begin with. She could have been an angel. Her aura held some traces of an energy unique only to angels, but at the same time it was heavy with a demon's power. Most of it was something he had never even encountered to begin with. If he had known what she was, he would have had a better chance of winning his fight against her. Not knowing put him at a disadvantage.

he could feel his anger beginning to rise. Very quickly too, at that. His own aura began to condense around him, swirling around in a green-black mist. It was a good thing he had the boy's blood in his system, otherwise he probably wouldn't have stood a chance. If he was at full power, he was sure he could have taken her out easily. If only that were the case.

His aura now a full-blown field of energy surrounding him, he cautiously made a stance to jump so he could get away quickly from any attack she had planned.

"Now just who in the hell are you?" he asked with venom.

The smallest hint of a smirk found it's way onto her face.

"My name is Akuma." she said casually, "My mother wants you dead, and I'm going to make it happen."

* * *

Ciel's world was fuzzy. His vision swam in and out of focus. He turned his head slightly and caught sight of Akuma, or at least someone he thought was Akuma. He could hear talking. Sebastian and Akuma were talking. He couldn't understand a word of it, though. Everything sounded as though he was under water.

His head pounded painfully. The icy feeling in is veins simply turned to numbness, and in turn his entire being went numb. He turned his head again, and he found a path out of the clearing he was in. A small, desperate thought formed in his hazy mind, one telling him that he needed to get away _now_.

He was far too dizzy to stand and walk, but maybe he could crawl his way out. Though he felt to weak to even move, he dragged himself up on his hands and knees. The ground swayed beneath him. He felt like a drunkard trying to walk on a tightrope. But his persistence won out, and he somehow managed to force himself to keep going.

He didn't stop once he was out of the clearing. Oh no, he kept himself going for quite some time, the only thing motivating him were the crashes and shrieks of the two demons fighting behind him. He eventually happened upon a very large black mare, the same horse he had ridden into this mess with. She was grazing idly quite a distance from the fight.

Ciel had forgotten her name, but he decided to stay with her. He curled up between the roots of a huge tree. The horse glanced at him occasionally, but other than that she didn't acknowledge his presence. The boy would have liked to think he could stay there.

Night had fallen, and he was beginning to nod off to sleep when he heard three, possibly four sets of hooves thundering towards him. He jumped awake, noticing the world was a bit clearer than before. He looked around and realized that the fourth set of hooves had only been his horse galloping away in fright. He had no way to follow her, so he just sat and waited for whatever was coming for him.

Three horsemen came onto view, each wearing a uniform. He knew that had seen him, because one of them pointed at him and they all turned to go to him. He knew he should have been scared, but he was so relieved nothing else mattered. These men looked like police, and if the police were in these woods that meant that they must have searched for him.

He barely remembered to close his marked eye as the horses skidded to a stop in front of him.

"Hell, look at his neck!" one said, "Looks like he's half eaten!"

The other two generally ignored him. One who was holding a piece of paper quickly dismounted. He knelt in front of the boy.

"What's your name, son?" He ask rather loudly.

The boy swallowed before he spoke in a voice hoarse from screaming.

"Ciel."

"Ciel who?" the officer asked again.

The boy tried to grasp it, tried to force it into a word that he could speak, but he couldn't.

"Ph... Ph... I don't know." I said pathetically

The officer looked from the boy, to the paper, then back to the boy. Finally, he just held it up for the boy to see.

"Is this you?" he asked.

One of the officers spoke up behind him.

"For Christ's sake, Dan, stop asking stupid questions! That's obviously the kid we're looking for, and he looks like he's probably in shock. Let's just take him home already!"

The officer folded the paper and put it in his pocket. He stood and held his hand out for the boy.

"Stand up," he said, "You're going home."

The child gratefully took the officer's hand, but the officer pulled him up a little to quickly. His head spun and his vision went completely dark. The last thing he remembered was the feeling of the ground hitting his face before he blacked out.

* * *

_**BOOM.**_

_**You thought I wasn't going to update anymore, didn't you? You probably thought that I had abandoned this story and left it to die so it could rot and a bunch of other disgusting stuff, right?**_

_**WRONG!**_

_**I have no intentions of abandoning this story anytime soon. I just needed a little break from it due to what I would like to call 'end of school year craziness.' **_

_**Don't get your hopes up though. My updates will be no where near regular anymore. I've been writing for other fandoms and I've been working on a lot of other original stuff for myself.**_

_**Oh, and just for the record: 3500+ WORD CHAPTER THAT ONLY SORTA SUCKS!**_

_**My new laptop arrived May the 22nd and it has been running fabulously. That is a very good thing because I think the librarian would have shot me if I went back there one more time.**_

_**On another note, I finished '**_**The Wanderer's' _One-shot request. If you didn't already know, she asked for a story about Ciel killing himself because I assume she is heavily disturbed. It is titled _When the Spider's Thread Fails. _I would really appreciate it if you all took the time to read and review it. It is one of my better written stories, and it means a lot to me.__  
_**

**_I've decided I need to interact with you readers a bit more, So I have a question for you:  
_**

**_Who should win next chapter's fight?  
Bassy or Akuma?_**

**_I have two different scenarios planned for whoever wins, so your input is very important. Just tell me who you want in the reviews. You have control over the story now, use it wisely._**

**_So, that's all for now. Until we meet again,_**

_**READ MY OTHER SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**VOTE IN MY SHITTY POLLS**_

_**ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS SHITTY STORY!**_

_**REQUEST YOUR OWN SHITTY STORIES!**_

_**Slender man is scaring the shit out Ciel for your amusement. **_

_**BYE! ^_^**_


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